


First Christmas

by Isolus_girl



Series: First Christmas [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Baking, Christmas, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, New Years, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 28,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isolus_girl/pseuds/Isolus_girl
Summary: After the Christmas Invasion Rose and the Doctor get snowed in, causing them to spend a traditional Christmas together.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Series: First Christmas [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2070249
Comments: 43
Kudos: 75
Collections: 31 Days of Ficmas 2020





	1. Snowed In

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy this small Christmassy offering! This is for the 31 Days of Ficmas prompt snowed in.

Rose looked up sharply when she heard a gentle knock on her door. Her shoulders sagged only slightly in relief when she saw a not-so familiar suit clad figure silhouetted by the bright light in the hallway. Pausing in her absent minded picking at a loose thread of her quilt cover, she shot him a smile that almost reached her eyes. Only a few hours ago they had enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner, but shortly afterwards she took herself into her room, needing the space to process everything that had happened that day. New Doctor, nearly losing the Doctor, alien invasion and Christmas dinner with her Mum. She wasn’t hiding exactly, just trying to find the space to work out how she felt about everything that had happened.

“Oh, hey Doctor,” she spoke, by way of greeting. The Doctor looked serious and she felt a bit guilty. Her comment earlier had been genuine, she had accepted him as the Doctor, she just couldn’t help but miss the leather jacketed Northern alien who had swept her off Planet Earth and into the stars. It wasn’t that she didn’t want this new Doctor, it wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy his company or trust him (she would never doubt him again after the sword fight), she just couldn’t help but miss her Doctor when she saw him. 

Her surprise when he didn’t comment on her reaction, must have been evident on her face, but instead he announced glumly, 

“We’re snowed in Rose. Thought you should know.” 

It took her a few minutes to register what he had said, but she was no less surprised. 

“Doctor, I live in a tower block.” she announced slowly, as though talking to a child, “I live on the second floor. We can’t be snowed in.” 

“He’s right you know, the whole block is snowed in. We can’t open the door to the stairs. Unless you fancy jumping off that balcony we’re all stuck here.” Jackie’s voice filtered through the thin walls and open doorway. 

The Doctor blanched at that statement. The thought of being trapped with her mother for an indefinite period obviously too much to bear. Rose took pity on him and crossed the short distance from her bed to the doorway to give him a hug. He felt unfamiliar in her arms, but somehow he fit perfectly. She wasn’t complaining when he squeezed her just a fraction tighter. 

“It can’t be that bad Doctor,” she whispered softly into his shoulder, trying to comfort him. She knew he found it hard being separated from the TARDIS at the best of times, but to be stuck in a flat with Jackie Tyler must be particularly hard on him. Her mind froze as she suddenly realised the implications of what he had been saying. 

“Did you say we were snowed in?” she exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with that familiar glow of excitement. When the Doctor nodded in bewilderment she pulled away, exclaiming “We’ve never been snowed in and i’ve lived here for 19 years. I have to see this!”

Rose grabbed the Doctor’s hand and pulled him out the front door. The snow they had played in only a few hours before was coming down thick and fast, the estate she could picture in her sleep looked unrecognisable. The normally dull and grey balcony was transformed, covered in crisp, white fresh snow. Rose couldn’t resist the urge to put her hand gently on it to form a hand print, letting out a small gasp of amazement. The Doctor placed his hand ontop of hers and Rose grinned up at him. 

Eventually the cold seeped into both of them and they took a step back. The hands that had previously been in the snow found each other and Rose tried to memorise the picture of their joint hand prints - a fresh start imprinted into the fresh snow. She was jolted back to reality when she felt something cold slide down the back of her neck and squealed, throwing her head back against the unwelcome intrusion. As soon as she recovered she grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at the Doctor’s smug face. He ducked, but her aim was rushed and she hit his head anyway. As the only snow had come through the open gap there wasn't much, so they ran out of snow before enthusiasm. Marge from above them had already yelled down, objecting to the noise so it was probably for the best. Given Marge wore a hearing aid that should have been an indication that they were getting carried away. 

The Doctor pulled her inside and softly breathed on her hands, cupping them in between his two, fractionally warmer hands. 

Rose laughed, “I appreciate the gesture Doctor, but your hands are freezing! Put the kettle on and we’ll have a cuppa instead.” 

Somehow the Doctor managed to use the sonic screwdriver to do this, barely letting go of her hands, which Rose found even funnier. He’d obviously ‘adapted’ Jackie’s kettle while Rose was musing in her room. 

“Ooh is that the kettle,” Jackie called, “make me a cuppa and we can all sit and watch the Christmas special of Eastenders.” 

The Doctor shook his head frantically at Rose, who tried valiantly to subdue her laughter at the prospect. 

“Tell his Lordship that there’s some Christmas pudding left we can have as well.” 

The Doctor looked slightly placated, but muttered something under his breath about Eastenders not being Christmassy. 

He didn’t seem to mind a short while later when he was sat on the sofa with Rose, sharing a fluffy blanket, both of them cupping steaming mugs of tea. 

Jackie kept shooting them knowing glances, which quickly turned into glares as the Doctor commented on how unrealistic the storylines were. Eventually Jackie turned it off and went to fetch a board game, muttering under her breath about Christmas traditions. Rose turned slightly to face the Doctor. 

"You know Doctor, if we're going to be snowed in, I think i should show you what Christmas is really about."

The Doctor just smiled. Christmas, however domestic, seemed so much more appealing with Rose curled up next to him. 


	2. Gingerbread

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based on the prompt ginger/gingerbread. Thank you for the lovely comments on yesterday's offering. I had so much fun writing plotless fluff again so I really hope this doesn't disappoint!

The Doctor crept into Rose’s room early the next morning. Through careful trial and error when she first came on board the TARDIS, he had worked out how long he had to leave her before he could safely wake her up. This morning was technically their Christmas break though, so he figured it didn’t count. He was bored. It was one thing being on the TARDIS while Rose was sleeping, there was always books to read, tinkering to do or even food to eat. This wasn’t the TARDIS though, he had run out of things to keep him occupied hours ago and with the thin walls he didn’t even dare to put the tv on. 

It almost seemed a shame to wake her, she looked to be sleeping so soundly. Her hair was slightly mussed up and her lips were parted, he could hear her soft, rhythmic breathing. For a moment he simply stared at her, transfixed by how beautiful she looked.

Fortunately, when he shook her awake, softly whispering her name she only glared at him, a relatively minor reaction on the scale of Waking Rose Up. 

“Rose, it’s Christmas!” 

His enthusiasm overtook him then and he plonked himself down at the foot of her bed. Rose just grunted. 

“You said we could have Christmas today,” he whined. 

Rose sighed reluctantly, “Bring me a cup of tea in 5 minutes and I might be in the mood for Christmas when i’ve finished it.” 

The Doctor bounded off into the kitchen then, before finding himself stood in front of the kettle wondering what to do with the 4 minutes 30 seconds he had before he could take the tea in to Rose. 

What did humans do at Christmas, apart from Christmas dinner and presents he wondered? He didn’t normally hang around long enough to find out, Christmas was firmly in the category of domestic that he avoided as widely as possible. In a few years everyone would wander round in Christmas jumpers, but he thought that was a bit early for Rose’s time. Of course Rose had grown up with Jackie, maybe they had their own traditions. He tried hard to think about any traditions of Jackie’s he might like and struggled. 

He was relieved when he could turn the kettle on and head into Rose again. Rose was not relieved, only just looking awake enough to drink her tea. She allowed him to sit at the end of her bed, but raised her hand when he tried to talk. It didn’t take many sips of tea however before she relaxed and smiled at him. He felt safe enough to speak. 

“Rose, what do humans do at Christmas apart from presents and Christmas dinner?” 

“I guess you’ll find out Doctor,” she teased, that tongue finding its way to the corner of her mouth. “I think you’ll like what I have planned for today though.” 

That was how, ten minutes later, the Doctor found himself in the kitchen, tied up in an apron, wondering what Christmas had to do with aprons and kitchens. 

Silently smirking, Rose handed him some ingredients. It was then his Time Lord Brain came back from wherever it had wandered off to, he made the connections and exclaimed “Gingerbread! I love gingerbread, it’s just so… gingery!”

Rose grinned as she corrected him, “a gingerbread house Doctor, we’re going to make a gingerbread house. Mum and I used to make one every Christmas when I was growing up. Christmas always felt so magical.”

The Doctor found himself unable to argue with that and simply weighed out the butter into a pan. 

Of course it was a small kitchen, so as they were cooking Rose had to stand close to him, in order to see the pan like he could. He tried reminding her that he was over 900 years old and he had made gingerbread before, but somehow the words got stuck in his throat. She was only looking out for him. All of this was in aid of him really, to keep him occupied while they were snowed in. To give him the Christmas she assumed (rightly) he had never had. Carefully therefore, he added all the ingredients in the right order, at the right time, not telling her that there was a far easier way to do it with his sonic screwdriver. When she started humming ‘We Wish you a Merry Christmas’ he found himself singing along to it. Badly. He was sure he used to be able to sing? One of his regenerations must have done it at some point. 

Rose looked at him dubiously. Apparently she didn’t approve of his singing either. They both looked at each other for a second before bursting into laughter. Rose continued to sing as she showed him how to roll the dough, taking his hands and showing him how to apply just the right amount of pressure. He looked at her as she was leaning in to his side and holding both of his hands. The tension between them was so thick the Doctor tried desperately to think of something to say. Telling her it looked like an alien from the planet Dot might not have been the most appropriate thing to say, but it did make her laugh, her smile absolutely reaching her eyes in a way it hadn’t always done since he regenerated. 

Together they put the dough in the oven and he realised she had some flour on her cheek. Not thinking about it, he tried to brush it off and frowned when he realised his hands were covered in flour and now so was her cheek. She stood still, staring at him carefully as he considered his next move. He thought having lived and travelled together for over a year she would have learnt to always expect the unexpected, but apparently she hadn’t, because she squealed when he reached out to lick it off. 

Unfortunately Jackie chose that moment to walk in. They both froze as they watched her take in the mess in the kitchen, the gingerbread in the oven and the Doctor, probably comically paused with his tongue on Rose’s cheek. The Doctor braced himself for another Tyler slap, but what came was far, far worse. Jackie gave a knowing smirk and headed out of the kitchen. 

The Doctor turned to look at Rose, both with equally stunned looks. 

“Did she?”

“I think maybe…”

“She can’t?”

“Can she?”

“Maybe we’d better?”

“Yeah!” 

Simultaneously they both grabbed each other’s flour covered hands and ran after Jackie, somehow attempting to explain how the Doctor’s tongue on Rose’s cheek was entirely innocent. 

This regeneration appeared to have an oral fixation. 


	3. Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this one! This is the first thing i've enjoyed writing since I came out of hospital, so I really hope you like it too! Thank you so much to the lovely people who helped me brainstorm.

By lunchtime the Doctor was going stir crazy, even having spent the morning making gingerbread with Rose. He decided to try the door to the stairs again, if he could just get his TARDIS up to the flat, it wouldn’t be so bad, there was lots of tinkering that would keep him occupied. The door opened an inch with his full weight against it, it wouldn’t budge open enough even for this new skinny body. For a moment he was tempted to stay outside for a bit, away from Jackie’s knowing looks, but the cold as well as the thought of what Rose would say drove him back inside. 

She was waiting for him with turkey sandwiches, he wasn’t sure what it was about humans, but when they latched onto an idea, it dominated everything. He would be hard pressed to have food that wasn’t turkey themed at Christmas. It wasn’t that he disliked turkey, but he did like variety. 

“Are they okay Doctor?” Rose asked a tiny bit hesitantly. She was still a little bit unsure of how this regeneration would react and he had obviously been displaying his thoughts on his face. 

“Mmm, turkey sandwiches, very Christmassy. I’m just working out how many turkey themed food items you humans eat over Christmas.”

“Doctor, just eat your sandwiches. Mickey left his laptop here, I want to introduce you to Christmas shopping.”

“But we’ve had Christmas Day already?”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I pretty much missed that, I certainly didn’t have chance to get any presents. Too busy being attacked by robot Santa’s. Besides, there’s always sales on Boxing Day.”

The Doctor just shrugged, if it made Rose happy he would do it. It couldn’t be that bad, internet shopping was still quite basic at this point in earth history right?

Mickey’s laptop was slow, as was the dial up internet, which was making those awful screeching noises he had once prayed he would never have to hear again. The Doctor made a few subtle tweaks with the sonic screwdriver when Rose took the plates into the kitchen, he was sure Mickey wouldn’t mind if his laptop worked better after all. 

Rose brought up a website and started talking about buying something for Shareen, they seemed to spend a long time looking at pink girly things that hurt his eyes before she pushed the laptop over to him. 

“You have a look at some stuff, I’m going to check on Mum.”

Happy for the excuse not to spend time with Jackie, the Doctor looked at the laptop suspiciously. What did he want? He had access to all of time and space, every shop and stall there ever was or will be, what could the internet possibly offer him? Cautiously, he typed in the one thing he could think of and his eyes went wide. Bananas, banana themed food, banana clothes, banana cards. Anything he could possibly want had bananas on it. He thought for a moment, before heading to the checkout. It wouldn’t hurt to spend a bit of that UNIT paycheque, he wasn’t sure how much was there, but he was sure he had enough to buy Rose the banana leggings. 

The next site he went to had a wonderful rice cooker, it played a tune when you started cooking! It was also on offer with 10% off. Thinking of Jackie’s cooking with a shudder, he thought it might help him stay on her good side if he bought her a present. He had only just started to think about how Rose might be offended if he didn’t buy her something too when he saw the perfect item, a chip maker! Rose would love that one and maybe she’d stop nagging him to buy her chips then. 

When Rose came back 15 minutes later he was feeling very smug at how well he had managed this Christmas shopping. He had bought Rose, Jackie and even Mickey a present or two, the Brig has been nagging him for years to spend that money so everyone would be happy. She sat next to him and peered over his shoulder at the banana jam he was buying. 

He was only a little bit deflated when Rose told him she couldn’t buy him a present if he was sat right there and after a moment’s pondering decided to rearrange Jackie’s kitchen to make room for the new rice cooker. The thought of their faces made him impatient for the parcels to come, it was a shame next day delivery wouldn’t be popular for several years yet, although he had paid extra for faster delivery on everything where possible. After all, it wasn’t as though he would be in this flat for long. It was absolutely not a sign of him being domesticated that he had baked gingerbread and spent time Christmas shopping in one day. Nope. It was a sign of a pent up Time Lord was all. 

The sound of his name brought awareness rushing back. Rose must be finished buying his present. He found Rose and Jackie at the table giggling over something on the laptop. That made him nervous. What could possibly be causing so much amusement? 

It was an email confirmation from the banana website for the banana shaped kitchen roll holder. What was funny about that, it was an essential kitchen item? Maybe he needed to get his own email address as well. 

Rose caught sight of him lurking in the doorway and beckoned him forwards. 

“Have fun?” She asked with that tongue touched smile that absolutely did not send him crazy. He realised she was looking at him expectantly and smiled back, rocking casually back on his heels. 

“Yep,” he popped the p in his mouth, enjoying the way it felt in this regeneration and giving himself time to think. Fun. Shopping. Right. 

“I got a present for everyone. No big deal this internet thing. Jackie I’ve sorted your kitchen out for you, you’ve got more space now.”

Jackie turned pale and then bright red. Rose grabbed his hand and together they ran for his life. 


	4. Holiday Movies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I also had a lot of fun brainstorming this, although it turned out nothing like I had intended! Thanks to Big Bad TARDIS who reminded me that Ten loves Disney!

That evening Rose lay on the sofa exhausted. Entertaining a Time Lord without a TARDIS was exhausting. Especially when she had to be the go-between him and her mother. In fact the flat was probably a bit too quiet now she thought about it. Quiet was not a good sign and this new Doctor seemed more hyperactive than the last one. 

Sighing, she sat up. From her new vantage point she could see he was doing something in the kitchen, that almost certainly warranted intervention. Her Mum hadn’t forgiven him for rearranging the kitchen and was still sulking in her room. 

She was not expecting to meet him coming out of the kitchen with bowls of popcorn. 

“Peace offering?” He said sheepishly, holding out one of the bowls. She took them without hesitation, leading them back to the sofa where they somehow managed to entwine themselves without spilling the popcorn. 

It didn’t last long though, Rose took the Doctor’s popcorn from him , saying “Popcorn means films, Christmas DVDs are on the rack, stick one on.” 

Reluctantly he agreed and she watched amused as he deliberated over each one in turn, diligently reading the back of each one as though it were a Nobel Prize winning essay. 

Finally he shuffled back, solemnly showing her his choice as though waiting for approval. She stifled a laugh, of all the films on there she had not expected him to produce ‘Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas’. Apparently this regeneration really liked Disney! Well, she wasn’t going to complain, this film reminded her of being a child and long winter’s evenings snuggled up with Jackie. In fact she didn’t think she’d seen it for years. Teenage her had been too cool for Disney. 

Once he had put it on, she snuggled into his side, allowing him to take his popcorn back, the sound of the solemn voice introducing the film filling the room. It was exactly like a blast from the past. As the film zoomed into the boat with Donald Duck’s tag, she couldn’t help the shiver of anticipation down her spine. The Doctor smiled down fondly at him and she felt the sudden inexplicable urge to kiss him. No, it was just the excitement of the film she told herself, forcing herself to focus on Huey, Dewey and Louie as they had their second Christmas Day. 

The Doctor was fascinated, explaining that the boys were in a Time Loop, marvelling at how well it had been depicted. He even sung along to the carols in every loop of Christmas Day, although she didn’t ask how he knew them. On the final loop when the boys made Christmas extra special he pulled the arm wrapped around Rose tighter, smiling at the screen. 

“Of course a time loop is rarely about what you have to get right and more about finding the object that is manipulating time, but it does indeed provide a good opportunity to have a do-over.” 

He was rambling again, something that again this regeneration appeared prone to do. She was still noting the differences between the two of them, although she was finding she was less bothered each time she noticed something, it was more like a casual observation. The rambling may be annoying though, she needed to find a way of getting him to cut to the chase, he was still talking about time loops. 

“Doctor?” 

“Yes Rose?” 

“The time loop finished five minutes ago. Goofy and Max are trying to get the letter to Santa now.” 

“Ahh yes, the bond between father and son is something special, of course Father Christmas is a fictionalised concept, it’s come from several sources actually. The main one being the planet Mistide where they have a mysterious figure who gives out sweets to the children every month. Then there’s the planet Noel where people dress in red coats and do nice things for each other.”

“So basically what you’re telling me is that Santa is an alien?”

“Yep, cool isn’t it?”

“I don’t believe you! I’m sure you make half this stuff up.” 

The grin on his face faded slightly and he looked serious agai n. “When you’ve lived as long as I have Rose, you don’t need to make things up.” 

She wasn’t sure what to say to that so they both found themselves back watching the film intently. It didn’t take long before they were laughing at Goofy being clumsy and she felt his arm relax around her once more. Her hand found his spare one and gave it a squeeze, relishing the feel of his chest rising and falling underneath their joined hands. It was rhythmic and relaxing and after her early morning wake up call was nearly enough to send her to sleep. She found her eyes drooping as they concluded and turned to the last present - the one that told the story of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. 

Both of them were a little bit cross about Minnie hiding bills, it might only be a children’s film, but Rose felt strongly about giving people a good example. They let it slide, especially as the story got sweeter, with Mickey giving the family without much money a small Christmas tree. 

“Of course, that’s exactly what many people forget about Christmas. It’s not about breaking the bank, it’s about being with the people you care about. I guess ultimately that’s the message of all of these, Christmas isn’t worth anything if you’re not spending it with those you care about. Not that I celebrate Christmas of course, but for humans, that’s the most important thing.” 

He was off again, rambling about something he felt passionate about. It was endearing, but they were also missing the conclusion of the film because of it. She looked up at him, trying to decide the best way to shut him up. Without thinking, she reached up and kissed him, initially just a peck on the lips, but both of them instinctually reaching out to deepen the kiss. 

They missed the end of the film anyway. 


	5. Ornament

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the lovely comments I've been getting, I hope you enjoy this one as much!

The Doctor stared at the definitely-not-killer Christmas tree whilst Rose was sleeping again. She had gone to bed early, which was apparently his fault for waking her up so early. It seemed like a vicious circle to him, he woke her up because he was bored on his own and now here he was alone again. Last night he had spent the entire time being bored, tonight he had a lot more on his mind. Rose had kissed him. They had kissed. He had kissed Rose Tyler. The disbelief even in his own head was coming through strongly. There was no denying the fact they had been dancing around each other for nearly a year, but he thought they were happy like that. She would eventually leave him and then he would be alone again, only having lost more than before. 

After the Time War things had looked so bleak. He had thought he was going to die blowing up Henricks and he was okay with that. By the time he was on the Game Station, he was only okay with dying if Rose was safe. Somehow that pink and yellow human had embedded herself into his life and now he had more to lose than he ever deserved to have. 

Why was it that tonight all he could think about was that kiss? Her soft lips on his. He always wanted to make her happy, but tonight more than ever he wanted to do something to make her smile, to show her just what she meant to him. 

He looked around at the small space he was currently occupying. The faux leather sofas, the new, non-killer Christmas tree in the corner. For the first time he really thought about what it must have been like for Rose growing up here. Single mother, not a lot of money. He shook his head, no, he definitely wasn’t feeling impressed by Jackie Tyler. Still, his eyes kept wandering to the Christmas tree. This was nearly everything Jackie had wanted - her daughter home for a proper Christmas. 

The white baubles caught his eye and an idea sparked in his head. Now, maybe, he rummaged around in the cupboards and drawers, searching for the elusive objects he needed. A wild grin split across his face when he found the tiny paint brushes, even more so when he found the little pots of congealed paint in the corner of a drawer. All it took was a quick wave of his sonic screwdriver and the paint was restored to the right consistency. 

Everything was spread out before him on the dining room table and he was about to begin, when he thought of Jackie with a shudder. No matter his intentions, she would murder him if he got paint on her table. He found an extra moment to locate an old sheet or towel that could cover his work space before gingerly dipping the brush into the green paint. 

Over the course of the next hour he carefully crafted a ring of tiny green leaves with patience he didn’t know this regeneration had. Initially he had only intended to do one, but then he found himself with four baubles in front of him. Risking the noise of the kettle, he made himself a cup of tea whilst waiting for the green to dry. By the time he had finished the mug, the first bauble was dry enough for him to add a lighter stroke to the inside of the leaves. 

That didn’t take as long and he was able to do little red dots for holly berries whilst the paint was still drying. He deliberated for a moment what to do about the middle, but reluctantly decided to wait for the baubles to be dry again, he didn’t want to smudge what he had already done whilst crafting the middle. This time he washed his brushes clean whilst he was waiting. 

It wasn’t quite dry enough to paint so he examined the other baubles on the Christmas tree. A few were obviously made by Rose when she had been a child and he smiled at the thought of Rose concentrating, sticking her tongue between her teeth as she made these for Jackie. His favourite was a Christmas tree that had been made with tissue paper - designed to look like a stained glass window. He chucked under his breath at the ingenuity of teachers - making something charming and treasured out of nothing. 

Resisting the urge to touch anything, he sat back down at the table and picked up his brush to begin the final gold flourish. He did Rose’s first, taking extra care over the curves of her name, wanting it to shine just as she did. Next he did Jackie, taking just as much care over hers, but thinking of Rose and hoping she would like the peace offering. 

When he had finished he smiled, looking at the four ornaments in front of him. Carefully, he cleared away his mess, trying to make the place look as good as new, then he laid out the baubles on a piece of tinsel. If all went to plan they would draw the eye when Rose and Jackie walked in. He just wanted to see Rose smile, to show the realisation he had had overnight. 

Looking at the four names on the baubles he smiled. The people who had adopted him as family. Family argued, family got on each other’s nerves, but family was there for you and somehow these three humans had wormed their way into his life.

Rose, Jackie, Doctor and Mickey. 


	6. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this in a hospital car park waiting for my Mum so i'm hoping there's not too many errors!

Rose stumbled bleary eyed into the kitchen, dying for a cup of tea to wake her up. It was a miracle she had been able to sleep as late as she had, obviously her grumbling at the Doctor had started to seep in. She flicked the kettle on and rubbed her eyes absently while she got some mugs out of the cupboard. Speaking of the Doctor, it wasn’t like him to be so quiet and inconspicuous. He was like a toddler, quiet meant trouble. The kettle boiled and clicked off, allowing her to pour the water onto the tea bags. 

As her first sip of tea warmed her insides she began to be more aware of her surroundings. Grabbing the Doctor’s tea in her spare hand, she moved through to the lounge. That was when she spotted something, there, neatly arranged on the coffee table, were four intricately painted baubles, each one with a name in the centre. Rose, Doctor, Jackie and Mickey. Her family. The three people most important to her, the only three who understood her new life. 

Hope reared up within her, was this a sign? Was he sending a message after last night? Hope quickly turned to concern as she realised she still didn’t know where he was. The only place she hadn’t been was her Mum’s room and she knew he wouldn’t be in there. For one frantic moment she wondered if the snow had thawed and he had left her, but one look at the baubles dissuaded her of that idea. She was just starting to go from concerned to worried when she heard the front door. 

“Where were you?” she asked as she barrelled into him, barely giving him time to close the door. 

“We were out of bananas. I wanted to make you banana pancakes for breakfast and you can’t make banana pancakes without bananas!”

She laughed then, she couldn’t help it. He looked so sincere and thoughtful and she had been worried. Fortunately he looked confused more than hurt and she pulled herself together. 

“I saw these and couldn’t understand why you would make such a beautiful gift and then leave.” She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. A sorry and a thank you, the gift was really special and him wanting to make her breakfast was thoughtful. 

“Hang on, if you got bananas does that mean the snow is thawed?”

“No, I borrowed these from a neighbour, but the snow is thawing. I don’t think we’ll be stuck for much longer.” He looked so ridiculously happy about that, for a moment Rose was almost hurt. “Of course I know you’ve not finished doing Christmas yet, but I’ll feel happier when we get the TARDIS in the flat.” He looked frankly at her for a moment, “it’s hard being separated from her. Besides, I could even take you on a few Christmassy trips.”

Her heart soared at the thought and she couldn’t help but kiss him again. 

“What was that for?” he asked curiously. 

“For being you. Don’t ever change.”

He smiled bemusedly before waggling the bananas, “so, breakfast?”

Only the Doctor would visit the neighbours, then stand and make banana pancakes just for her breakfast she mused as she whisked the mixture, splashing her cheek and probably her pyjamas slightly. 

They talked as they worked, the Doctor flipping pancakes expertly in the pan, while she kept the cooked ones warm in the oven. They reminded each other of memories, past adventures like Downing Street and things they had seen and done like Woman Wept, they planned for the future, planets, times and places they would go to, events they would see and things they would do. Barcelona being top of the Doctor’s list. Her life mapped out in front of her and the prospect was perfect, far more than she could ever have imagined for herself a few years ago. She really did have it all, great guy, great ‘job’ and a supportive family at home. 

The Doctor spotted the mixture on her cheek and leaned in to lick it off, just as he had with the gingerbread. This time she was ready for him and turned her head so he captured her lips instead. 

“Banana Rose,” the Doctor said when he let her go, “my favourite.” He leaned in for another taste, just to make sure. 

When they sat down for breakfast with a newly awake Jackie, she looked suspiciously at them. Rose tried to look normal, but she felt her cheeks burning as she tucked into her pancakes. 

“The Doctor says when the snow thaws we can go on day trips to Christmassy places, like the ice festival of Pintoon and the natural fireworks of Tam,” she rambled, aware of how like the Doctor she sounded, filling the silence with words, enthusiastically talking about different places they would go. 

Her Mum just raised an eyebrow and looked at her. That was almost worse than words. Did she know? Would she mind if she did know? She had been just as touched by the gift as Rose, calling them a family. 

“Now let’s get something straight,” Jackie said eventually. “If this is going to happen, I’ll tell you what else is going to happen, you’re going to ring me at least one a week on that super phone, you’re both going to come back for Sunday dinner and Christmas, birthdays and Easter. I’m not having my future son-in-law whisking my daughter off for a year at a time again, got it?” she pointed a fork at the Doctor and he went very pale, grabbing Rose’s hand under the table and squeaking, 

“yes Jackie!” 

Jackie looked placated and happily went back to her pancakes. Rose just smiled at the two of them. For someone who said he didn’t do domestic, he had agreed to do something very much like it. 


	7. Cold

It was midmorning by the time Rose commented that she was starting to get cool. The Doctor fetched her blanket from her room and wrapped her in it, suggesting another cup of tea and a Christmas movie. Jackie left them the sofa and curled up in one of the chairs, choosing Serendipity, something Rose was only too happy to agree to and the Doctor shrugged, not recognising the title. 

He groaned about 30 seconds into the film. This was not going to be his sort of thing. 

Half an hour later Jackie grumbled that she was also cold and paused the film to go and turn the heating on. The boiler didn’t spring into life. She grumbled about repressurising it, but dutifully stuck her head in the cupboard to sort it. The boiler didn’t repressurise. A few expletives from Jackie had the Doctor offering to take a look. Once he got the hang of the overly complicated way it worked, he realised the valve was broken. 

“Errm so the good news is I can fix it…” he trailed off and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“And the bad news?” Jackie demanded. 

“I need to get a new part, which I can’t do while we’re snowed in.”

“Fantastic,” Rose and Jackie grumbled. 

“The snow is melting fast so we just have to wait for it to melt enough for me to get out. Jackie, Rose, go and put on some warm clothes. I’ll make us some hot chocolate. If we get warm it will be easier to stay warm.”

“What about you?” Rose asked, concerned. 

“Lower core body temperature remember? It will take much more for me to be cold.”

The Doctor heated up some milk, carefully put the powder in and even put some cinnamon in to make it feel Christmassy. He couldn’t find any squirty cream for the top, but he did find an unopened bag of marshmallows that he sprinkled generously on top. He was just bringing the three mugs through when Rose came in, fluffy pyjamas, dressing gown and fluffy socks. She looked warm and cosy and he couldn’t resist leaning in for a hug. 

When the film went back on, Jackie sat wrapped in a blanket on the chair and Rose and the Doctor were curled up on the sofa under Rose’s favourite blanket. Each of them sipping their drinks whilst they watched the characters race to meet each other at the top of the Empire State Building. The Doctor just resisted the urge to comment, but only because he could feel Rose resting against him, her head resting on his shoulder and he didn’t want to cause her to move. 

As the film became more ridiculous (why stay with a man you don’t like?) he found himself concentrating more on Rose’s breathing, her got chocolate long since finished. He had noticed she had a bit of marshmallow just above her upper lip, but he told himself he wasn’t hoping that he would get the chance to lick it off, he just wanted her to be comfortable. Rose’s breathing evened out as they got to the ice rink scene and he wondered if he would ever get tired of Rose sleeping on him. It was a far more interesting pastime than waiting for her to finish sleeping. She had a strand of hair that had fallen across her face, which she was blowing as she exhaled. Gently he brushed it away, pressing a kiss to the top of her head before blushing as he realised Jackie was watching him with an unreadable expression on her face. 

He could tell Rose was a comfortable human temperature, even as he could feel the temperature in the flat had dropped. Jackie wasn’t shivering, so he assumed she was also alright. The flat was unlikely to hit a dangerous temperature, surrounded as it was by other heated flats, but it could become uncomfortable and he didn’t want their Christmas spoiled by a broken boiler. 

Rose woke as the end credits rolled, blearily rubbing her eyes. She grinned up at him shyly as she realised she had fallen asleep on him, he gave her a full, beaming grin back before turning to Jackie. 

“Any plans for the rest of the day?”

She blinked, surprised and he secretly wished he could keep her this off guard. 

“I’m going to have a long, warm bath, you two can make lunch.”

Rose looked at the Doctor surprised. “It’s a good job you can cook. Okay Gordon Ramsay, what are we eating?”

He thought for a moment, trying to picture the contents of Jackie’s cupboards. “Bread? That will put the oven up to spread some warmth around the flat and kneading the bread will keep you warm.”

Rose waited until Jackie had closed the bathroom door before raising an eyebrow. “Bread? Are you tellin me Mum has all the ingredients for bread?”

“Well the yeast sachet might be a bit out of date, but we can try and see how we go. We can use plain flour instead of bread flour.” 

Rose shook her head, but sat up anyway, shivering as she did so. The Doctor pulled her back into a hug. “How about 5 more minutes until your body wakes up? Moving so soon after waking up is going to make you cold. The bread is going to take enough time to make that it will probably be for dinner, five minutes won’t make any difference.”

He could picture her grinning into his chest, but from the angle she had ended up he could only see the top of her head. Not that he was complaining. 

“Doctor?”

“Yes Rose?”

“You make a wonderful cushion.” 

She squealed as he chased her into the kitchen, both of them grinning widely. 


	8. Chestnuts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been putting off writing this one, but when I came to write it it sort of wrote itself. I had intended this to be completely different - pure Doctor/Rose for a start, but Jackie firmly inserted herself here.

Rose was indulging in a long, warm soak in the bath when she smelt it. A smell she always associated with family and Christmas. Chestnuts. In her mind’s eye she was a small girl again, holding tightly onto Jackie’s hand as they walked around the Christmas markets. Her Mum would always buy some and share them with Rose while they sat looking at the huge Christmas tree that was inevitably a focal point. As Rose got older and started to have part time jobs she would always treat her Mum to some as they wandered around together. A slight tear filled her eyes as she thought for the first time about the Christmas her Mum thought she was missing. Had she had chestnuts and thought of Rose, or had she avoided them as much as possible. This Christmas can’t have been much better for her, not knowing if Rose had survived, not knowing if she would turn up at all. 

As quickly as she could Rose shampooed her hair, still taking care to rinse it properly. It can only have been five minutes later that Rose was pulling her fluffy Disney pyjamas on, her tatty, but incredibly warm pink dressing gown completing the look. Her wet hair was not helping her temperature control, but there would be time to dry it when she had located the source of the smell. 

To her absolute shock and disbelief, she found Jackie and the Doctor stood in the kitchen together smiling. Rose stared as she contemplated the thought that they had shared the same space amicably without intervention for more than five minutes. They both spotted her at the same time. 

“Rose!” They both grinned at her. 

“Your Mum was telling me your Christmas tradition with chestnuts, I found them in the cupboard.”

“I bought some this Christmas. I bought a lot of things, hoping you would be back and we could have a proper Christmas. You weren’t back, not before Christmas, but we can have them now.”

“I thought they might be a nice warming snack!” The Doctor exclaimed. “You’ve been so into this Christmas thing I wanted to do something Christmassy for you and well, I know it’s not an open fire, but they will still taste nice and keep you warm while it’s cold.” He beamed at her, obviously expecting a response. She didn’t have one, not at first, instead she closed the two paces between them and enveloped him in a tight hug, as though she could express her emotions through the hug, although come to think of it, that was probably a language he would understand.

“The thing is Rose, I know this is our thing, but I know things are changing and if I don’t do something, one day you just won’t come back. So, a new tradition. We’re going to sit and eat the chestnuts and I want both of you to tell me about an adventure.”

Rose smiled, grabbing Jackie’s hand tightly, from her position still wrapped around the Doctor. “Only if you tell me something that has happened to you.” Feeling the Doctor tense up she nudged him, “the Doctor will listen, won’t you?”

He nodded slowly. “Of course. Nothing I’d rather do,” he babbled unconvincingly. 

“I’m going to dry my hair before it freezes and then we’ll tell you about Woman Welt Mum, I think you’ll like that one.”

When Rose returned, the Doctor and Jackie were sat at opposite ends of the table, chestnuts between them, in a not quite uncomfortable silence. Rose sat in between them and took a chestnut, savouring the familiar taste, watching Jackie eagerly do the same and the Doctor doing so curiously. 

“So Woman Wept is what, a monument?” Jackie asked after the first chestnut. 

“A planet Jackie.” The Doctor added, looking at Rose.

“We went to this beach right, it had waves hundreds of feet high, just frozen. Completely frozen. Something to do with the sun, but they had just frozen in an instant. We picnicked underneath the waves, a fancy flask -“

“Hydro flask,” the Doctor interrupted.

“A fancy hydro flask of tea and banana sandwiches, under the huge waves, glinting in the sun. They didn’t really melt during the day, but the nights are freezing there so overall they just kinda stay the same. The sun just sort of glints off the tiny bit of surface water, making it look really pretty. We hiked to the top of a wave and sat watching the sun go down, then we walked underneath just as the colours of the sunset were reflecting off the waves, bathing us in oranges and reds as we walked. Midnight came and we walked back to the TARDIS right underneath these giant waves, lit only by the moon.”

Rose popped another chestnut in her mouth as she listened to the Doctor try to explain to a suddenly disinterested Jackie why the waves had frozen. Jackie grabbed another chestnut and looked at Rose desperately, obviously trying not to ruin the good intentions she had so recently declared. Trying anyway, Jackie Tyler was not known for her patience. 

“So, chestnuts Doctor, what d’ya think?” Rose came to her Mum’s rescue, cutting the Doctor off in his prime. 

“I think they taste like Sentimal’s prized pudding!”

“Yes or no Doctor,” Rose asked dryly, Jackie smirking again. 

“You can’t reduce it down to simple measures like that Rose!... errr yes they’re lovely,” he trailed off as he noticed the look on Rose’s face. 

Jackie looked seriously at Rose, “You only ever talk about the monsters. Tell me more about the other stuff.”

“Other stuff! Jackie, space is majestic, beautiful, full of the most extraordinary things and you want to call it stuff!”

Rose put a chestnut in his mouth before he could undo all the progress they had just made with her Mum. 


	9. Snowflake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jackie inserted herself into this chapter as well! Hopefully you'll all feel there is enough fluff despite that. This is another chapter that wrote itself.

It was early evening by the time the Doctor decided he had played enough happy families and would check on the progress of ‘the thaw’. They might still be too snowed in for buses or any sort of travel, but at least he could get his TARDIS back and hopefully a part for the boiler. He didn’t relish the idea of staying quiet in the lounge without even having heating. 

He took his time wandering across the balcony and down the stairs, taking a moment to look out across London, or that bit of it, from the stairwell. He was aware of the time passing, but that was part of his objective after all. Once he had his TARDIS back Jackie was bound to feel threatened again and their hesitant truce would be over. He might as well stretch this small task out, give her a short amount of uninterrupted time with her daughter, hopefully it would soften the slap. 

His short look out of the window told him the door would open again, the snow was not completely melted, but it looked softer and lower than it had just a few days ago. Nevertheless he went down anyway, deciding to judge for himself how walkable the snow was. Unfortunately the process took less time than he had hoped and he was staring at the front door only ten minutes after he had left. Bracing himself for the inevitable Tyler slap, he rehearsed his words in his head as he opened the door. 

“I think it will be a few days before you can get off the estate, but the door will open again so I’ll go and get the valve for your boiler.” 

“Pick some milk up as well will ya love, we’re running a bit low.” Jackie barely lifted her head up from the phone she was texting from to reply. 

The Doctor gaped, moving his mouth up and down like a fish in a completely un-Time Lord way. 

Rose laughed at him, “come on Doctor, it can’t be that surprising,the three of us drinking all that tea when there should only be milk for one.”

“But, your Mum, I mean Jackie, aren’t you cross?”

“What, with a door? Do you want me to be cross?” She replied dryly. 

“I thought, well I thought you’d be cross with me for taking Rose away again?”

“What to the hardware store? We were apart for longer when I went in the bleedin’ bath!”

The Doctor gaped a bit more for good measure, leaving Jackie chance to take pity on him. 

“I’m not stupid, I know you’re both going to get back in that box again at some point, but I also know you promised Rose you’d finish doing Christmas. I also thought that just maybe we both understood each other, just a little bit better. I’m never going to like the fact you take Rose away from me, but I think maybe I can trust you to bring her home again now?” The last bit was nearly framed as a question, although Jackie wasn’t quite sure whether it was or not. Just for a moment her facade faded and he could tell how much she was trying, for Rose or for him, it didn’t matter, she was trying to keep the peace and he was grateful.

He nodded enthusiastically, just managing to squeak out a “Thought I promised you Sunday dinner,” before making his escape, not turning back until he was outside in the snow and he heard Rose laughing at him. He might have been offended, but instead he noticed how red the cold had made her cheeks glow and grabbed her cold hands. It had been such a hurry to escape she hadn’t had time to grab her hat and gloves. 

They walked in silence for a moment, the Doctor listening to the crunch of their footsteps as they stepped in time, relishing the feeling of her warming hand in his. For a moment he thought they could walk forever in the snow and started brainstorming snowy planets to take her to. He got to ten when Rose cleared her throat quietly next to him. 

“Why are you suddenly scared of my Mum again? She’s trying you know.” 

The Doctor sighed, turning to face Rose. “I know, I just can’t help but feel that when we leave again she’ll be back to the Jackie Tyler who hates me.”

“I don’t think Mum ever hated you, or at least not after Downing Street. Resented you yeah, disliked you maybe, but she couldn’t ever hate someone who had just saved the world, even if you had some help. Children grow up and move on, that’s all I’m doing. We just need to get the balance of visiting right is all.” 

“Rose Tyler you are very wise, did you know that?”

She giggled and the sound warmed him from the inside, he couldn’t resist a grin. Still facing her, he watched as a snowflake floated down from the sky and landed on the tip of her nose, balancing there perfectly for a second, its form perfectly intact, before the heat from Rose’s nose caused it to melt to just a drop. He couldn’t help it, he leaned in and kissed he drop away. 

When he stood upright again, Rose was staring at him curiously, not upset, just bewildered. 

“You had a snowflake on your nose. Fascinating thing snowflakes, technically part of the water cycle, but so full of mystery, such beautiful symmetrical shapes, a form that has become synonymous with winter-“

Suddenly he felt the cool moisture on his cheek, followed split seconds later by Rose’s lips. 

It was his turn to look at her with confusion. 

She shrugged, “you had a snowflake on your cheek… and it’s the most effective way to finish your rambles.”

“I do not ramble!”

“Waffle then, you’re the King of waffling!”

They were both distracted when a snowflake fell in between them, landing on their entwined hands. In unison they brought their hands up between them, staring at the rapidly melting snowflake, deciding whether this was a game they wanted to continue. 

Before they could decide a third snowflake landed on Rose’s lips. A mischievous smile spread across the Doctor’s face and he leaned in to kiss the snowflake away. 

When they broke apart they both looked up at the sky in time to see a small flurry of snowflakes fall from the sky. They both stared for a moment, mesmerised by the sight. The Doctor was the first to pull his eyes away and look at Rose. 

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to kiss that many snowflakes away in public.”


	10. Candle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going for soft and romantic. Hopefully I hit the right note here!

Rose and the Doctor were hungry by the time they landed the TARDIS in Jackie’s flat with the necessary part for the boiler. They had half expected Jackie to have dinner on, but there was just a note on the table for them. 

Gone to Bev’s. Be back late, Jackie x

“Just us then,” Rose remarked as they both read the note. 

“Tell you what, i’ll just fix this part on the boiler, get a bit of heat going and then we can go and have dinner on the TARDIS while the house heads up. I bet she’s missed us.” 

Rose nodded and stepped back inside the TARDIS, heading to the kitchen to see what she could find for dinner. It didn’t take much rustling through cupboards to find a bag of pasta, so she put that on to boil while she hunted for some ingredients to go with it. It didn’t take her long to find some tuna, milk, flour and butter. Tuna pasta bake it was then. Nothing fancy, but filling, easy and the quickest thing she could come up with. 

She was just putting the mixture in the oven when the Doctor walked in looking satisfied. Typical male timing she thought to herself, but put that thought aside when she thought how cosy she would be with heating tonight. 

“All fixed then?” she commented as she closed the oven door. 

He nodded and sat down. “What are we having?”

“Tuna pasta bake.”

“Not very Christmassy, or did I miss something?”

“I’m hungry so unless you want me to end up waiting even longer, getting hungrier,” she trailed off as she saw the Doctor shaking his head wildly. 

“Nope, tuna pasta bake is lovely!”

“I thought so,” she smirked. 

The Doctor looked suddenly uncomfortable. Rose raised an eyebrow. 

“Really? Right now?”

He nodded so enthusiastically Rose found she didn’t have the heart to say no, which was how she found herself sitting on the captain’s chair in the console room, watching the Doctor dig through boxes, throwing things out occasionally and even more occasionally putting something in his pocket, muttering about being sure he had it. 

They were both interrupted by a shrill ringing echoing around the coral. 

“Ooh dinner’s ready!” The Doctor leapt up, somehow missing the reindeer headband, Santa hat and baubles surrounding him. 

Rose shook her head, wondering how she ended up with an overgrown child. “Are you really going to leave this mess? You know the TARDIS doesn’t like it when you litter her control room.” She put her hands on her hips and fixed him with a Tyler stare, one step lighter than her mother’s. it wasn’t that she minded him trying to get into the spirit, more that she had visions of stepping on a bauble later. 

The TARDIS obviously agreed with Rose because as soon as the Doctor put the last object back in his box the lights went out. They weren’t quite in pitch darkness, but it was only just enough light to see their way back to the kitchen by. 

They both gasped when they saw the kitchen. In the middle of the table was a tiny Christmas tree and two flickering candles, accompanied by the dim light the TARDIS still provided it gave the room a soft glow. It was beautiful. 

“Since when were you and the TARDIS best friends?” The Doctor grumbled, mainly in jest. 

“Since I took her heart into me to save you and ended the Time War in the process.” She quipped in a tone lightening the seriousness of her actions. “Dinner?”

The two of them sat opposite each other as the seating demanded, both of them staring into the candle light almost nervously at first. 

Rose was the first to break the silence. “The food is better than the last time we ate by candlelight.” They both laughed, recalling the traditional dungeon with candles on the walls they had been trapped in for four hours, not long after their visit to Cardiff. Just like that, the tension was broken. Memories of past adventures came flooding out, then tales of Christmas past. Rose told the Doctor about the Christmas she decided Len three doors down was Santa and was determined to catch him in the act. The Doctor told tales of UNIT Christmas parties he had attended, both intentionally and unintentionally. The Brig had a way of making sure he attended. 

The plates were empty and the candles had burnt down low, the golden flame dancing in the shadows, when the conversation turned to future adventures. Being back on the TARDIS had reignited that spark of adventure in Rose and she was curious as to where they were going next. The Doctor stared at the wax trickling down the side of the candle for so long she almost wondered if he had forgotten. 

Eventually he turned to look at her, emotions raw in his eyes. 

“I want to take you everywhere, show you everything. The Ice Festivals of Fencloon, the triple sunsets of Teapid, Barcelona. How can I choose just one place when I want to show you the universe. The whole universe.”

Rose stretched forward to take his hand. “Then we will. One adventure at a time we will travel the universe. Doctor there were people on my estate who had never even made it as far as the beach. I get to travel the universe with my best friend.”

He leant forward to kiss her then, carefully avoiding the candles with his tie and her hair. As though timed to perfection, both candles flickered out, the main lights coming back on at a soft dim. 

Rose and the Doctor didn’t notice until they eventually broke the kiss and sat back, opening their eyes. 


	11. Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter that turned out entirely different to how I intended it to! I hope you enjoy it regardless.

Rose stretched luxuriously in her bed. She had slept so well last night, cosy and warm, dreaming of new adventures. It was rare these days that she got to wake naturally so she savoured the moment, enjoying that delicious feeling of just awake, resisting the urge to turn over and go back to sleep. She blinked into wakefulness, thinking about her plans for the day. It was amazing how many Christmas traditions could be done at home, but today she wanted to widen that. Show the Doctor a different side of Christmas. 

Thinking only partially wistfully of the days when she could spend a whole morning in bed, she stretched one last time and sat up. Something was different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Shrugging it off she pulled her dressing gown on and pulled the door open, only for it to get stuck on a bunch of mistletoe hanging from her door frame. 

Opening the door regardless, she muttered under her breath about her meddling mother and made her way to the kitchen where she nearly walked into the Doctor who was hurtling in her direction. 

“What’s the matter, has the Christmas tree turned violent again?” She asked, slightly concerned. 

“What? Oh, er no, I just erm, needed the bathroom?” He offered, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Well if you’re that desperate you’d better go,” she stepped neatly out of his way and continued to the kitchen, finding her Mum tucking into a plate of banana muffins and squirty cream. 

“Enjoying yourself?” She offered sarcastically, pulling herself up onto the kitchen bench in a way she knew her Mum hated. 

“Rose, your Doctor knows how to do breakfast. Now I know why you do all of that running, because there is no other way you could eat like this and stay slim.”

Rose laughed, that was not the answer she was expecting. She was about to help herself to some herself when The Doctor walked in and did it for her. 

Breakfast was an opportunity to discuss her plans for the day. The Doctor loved her idea and offered the use of the TARDIS if the buses were still not running. Jackie was keen on the idea until TARDIS travel was suggested and then she opted out as fast as she had included herself in the first place. 

“Rose, why don’t I do your hair for you, make it easier for you to put a hat on?” 

Thinking of the lovely braids he had produced one adventure when her hair kept getting caught up in a suspicious alien product she smiled and stood up to get her hairbrush. Then panicked when the Doctor made to go with her, the mistletoe was still there. She didn’t want to bother the Doctor with a silly earth custom. 

Smiling sweetly, although aware she was blushing she suggested the Doctor make a cup of tea for them all while she got her stuff. It was probably her imagination that his shoulders sagged slightly as he agreed. 

True to his word he braided her hair perfectly, with only one snarky comment from Jackie about where he had learnt that skill, batting it back with a perfect comment about gender roles being an outdated concept that gave them all a very relaxing, quiet ten minutes while he twisted each strand of hair into place. 

When he had finished he offered to get her hat from the top of her wardrobe in her room, but she lied and told him she’d already got it down and used the small steps under her bed. As she came out she saw him hovering at the end of the hallway, looking indecisive, he was obviously very ready to go out already. 

Strangely it was Jackie who slowed them down, insisting that they both made a shopping list of things to bring back for her before they left. It was mainly food, but as the list got longer she kept sending Rose into her room to check things. At one point she even sent Rose and the Doctor to check on different things, but Rose offered to check both and so the Doctor stayed where he was. 

Breakfast seemed further and further away so Jackie insisted on making them a packed lunch to take with them, despite them both reassuring her they would have the TARDIS. Rose nipped into her room while Jackie was making sandwiches to pick her phone up to take with them. As she came out she again saw the Doctor and running down the corridor, but luckily for her she met him near the top. 

“Toilet again?” She asked, “do Time Lords get water infections? It might be worth you checking yourself you know,” she said, concerned. 

“Just too much tea,” he squeaked, “Time Lords have evolved past that!”

“Suit yourself,” she shrugged. “I’m ready when you’re done.” She watched him walk slowly to the bathroom and decided he was trying to prove a point about Time Lord evolution. 

Eventually they were both stood in the lounge ready to go. Together they walked down the narrow corridor. As they reached her room the Doctor mumbled something and darted inside. They were both stood on opposite sides of the mistletoe. They both looked up at it and Rose went bright red. 

“I’m so sorry Doctor, I was trying to keep you away, I know it’s just a petty Earth tradition and-“ 

“Finally,” he whispered. “Rose Tyler, I believe you owe me a kiss!” He announced triumphantly. 

“But, I mean, you put it there?”

“Been trying to get you under it all morning, I was beginning to think you didn’t want me.”

“I thought my Mum-“

“We will not talk about your mother under the mistletoe.”

“Oi!” They both heard from down the corridor. 

“Now Rose Tyler, are you going to make me wait any longer?” 

So she leant forwards and kissed him, standing on her tiptoes.


	12. Tree

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some fun Christmas tree facts in this one. I don't live in London, but I did try to check my facts before I wrote this, apologies if anything isn't accurate. Researching things to be accurate for 2005 rather than now is quite hard as well so I might have inadvertently made a few assumptions. 
> 
> Thank you for all the lovely kudos and comments so far - I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others.

The Doctor flung the TARDIS doors open seconds after it materialised. The centre of London didn’t appear quite as snowy as the Powell Estates, just enough to make it look really Christmassy. Possibly enough to slow them down slightly, but not to really hinder them. Rose stepped out behind him in her new black winter coat and rainbow scarf. She looked warm and toasty, although he missed the feel of her hand in his when he clasped her glove covered hand. 

Rose had promised him a trip around the centre of London to see the lights and the Christmas trees. The thought of being outside the flat was making him bouncier than ever, although that could be the sugar in the tea. The Christmas feeling was a bit infectious and he was finding himself excited to see the Christmas decorations, he was usually too busy running to look at them properly. 

“So where are we going first?” he asked eagerly as they set off, Rose leading them. 

“Well the first must see is the tree in Trafalgar Square. Apparently Norway cut down one of their grand trees and send it to us every year as a thank you for helping in World War Two or something. It isn’t always very well received by locals, but it looks Christmassy and is pretty iconic.”

“Oh yeah, it’s called the Queen of the Forest and is always more than 20 meters high and is over 50 years old. Some people don’t like the trees being cut down and other people think it looks scarce and disappointing, but…” he trailed off at the look Rose was giving him. 

“So you know all about it, but you’ve never seen it?”

“Live long enough and you pick up facts. I might have run past it once and I think I saved it from an infestation of garflies once, but I wasn’t really taking the time to look at the tree, I was more interested in saving it.”

“Right… so how many planets have Christmas trees? Have you seen one on another planet?”

“None,” he grinned happily, thinking about how exciting it was for somebody else to be showing him something. “I guess some planets have variations and similar ideas, but nothing quite like a Christmas tree.”

The way she looked at him almost melted his insides. This little human woman, with all her faith and enthusiasm, all directed at him. She looked as excited as he was to be sharing something with him. 

“So tell me about one of the variations then, which was your favourite?”

“On festoon they have trees, a little bit like yours, but a deeper green, closer to black. They have these animals, a bit like fireflies, that live within the trees. It gives a kind of shimmering effect all over the tree. For a whole week in one of their years you have this beautiful light show - tiny little shimmers of light all over the tree. Over the course of the week they move slowly across and around the tree, so they’re never quite still. It’s mesmerising. People come from all over the galaxy to see it.” 

He grinned as he watched the awe on Rose’s face, she was captivated by the simple idea of it, he just knew she would love the reality. Maybe that could be their first stop - a quick trip whilst they were doing Christmas. 

It was his turn to be mesmerised as she pulled him to a stop in front of a giant, thin tree, covered in lights.The early dark evenings of winter meant that the lights were just being turned on as they watched, the night slowly drawing in. For a moment he simply stared, before he widened his field of awareness to recognise that they were stood in Trafalgar Square. Rose simply held his hand, staring up at the tree alongside him. There were a few other people around them looking at the tree, but most people were only glancing at it, rushing by on their way to get somewhere. Absently he wondered what it would be like to have a life like that, no time for the beauty around him. That only happened when he was saving the planet, it happened far less since Rose had come into his life. 

All too soon she was pulling him away, reminding him they had other places to go, another tree in particular she wanted him to see. It was a short walk, made slightly slower because of the snow, but he would have wandered well into the evening, admiring the Christmas lights, looking at the Christmas displays in the shops, holding Rose’s hand as they walked. 

It was about ten or fifteen minutes later when they arrived at Covent Garden, his time sense not as accurate as normal due the excess concentration on the hand in his, the feel of it against his, the way the warmth of her hands spread through the gloves onto his. 

“This Christmas tree is London’s biggest hand picked tree,” Rose said, playing her part as tour guide well. “I’m not sure how big it is though.” 

“Ooh about 60 feet i would say,” the Doctor commented without taking his eyes off the tree in front of him. The lights covering what looked like every inch of space, the way it seemed to softly glow, it was every bit as beautiful as sights he had seen elsewhere. They stood there staring at it for a long time. He knew the plan was to go into the Christmas market, but neither of them could quite bring themselves to do that yet. 

He turned to look at Rose slightly, still not quite taking his eyes off the tree. 

“Thank you. Thank you for sharing your tradition with me. For showing me Christmas.” 

She leant forward and kissed him softly. He decided then that tree was the best thing he had ever seen in any galaxy. 


	13. Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was hard. I had lots of ideas, but nothing that quite fit the story. Jackie came to my rescue! Not as Christmassy as the the other chapters, but hopefully I can make up for that tomorrow.

Rose was tired when they got back to the flat, but determined to stay awake long enough to talk to her Mum. Both of them immediately curled up on the sofa, Jackie bringing them in steaming mugs of tea, insisting they looked cold. Rose actually looked anything but, with rosy cheeks and a pink nose, but the Doctor wasn’t going to object, not when Jackie was voluntarily making him a mug of tea. 

The three of them had eaten, the Doctor and Rose having gone for chips on the way home and Jackie having eaten leftovers, so the tea was a welcome close to the evening for all of them. Jackie was keen to hear from Rose, both about her evening and about the state of the roads. The Doctor stayed quiet, letting Rose catch up with her mother, whilst the pair of them sipped their tea. It was exactly the sort of domestic his last self would have run from, but somehow this felt right, even if it had begun with events out of his control. 

Once Rose had finished her tea, she set the mug down and curled into the Doctor, her head over his hearts, causing him a small amount of surprise. Not that he was complaining, but it was the closest she had got to him in front of her Mum. He felt her relax, obviously hearing his double heart beat through his chest, she somehow seemed to time her breathing to it. Both of them forgot that Jackie was still in the room, the Doctor was far too distracted watching Rose’s chest rise and fall as she gave into sleep. She looked so peaceful. Had he been at a different point in his sleep cycle, he might have succumbed to sleep himself, there was something calming about the small sounds Rose made in her sleep, the slow in and out of her breathing and the heavy, grounding presence on his chest. 

It was almost a surprise when he looked up to see Jackie still there. She wore a serious expression on her face and he wracked his brains to think of what he could have done to change her mood. He watched as she sipped her tea, not taking her eyes off him.

“We need to talk.” she stated simply. 

“What have I done this time?” he sighed. 

“We need to negotiate a peace deal.”

“I thought we did? Sunday dinner and holidays?” 

Jackie waved a hand. “That’s just visiting arrangements. I’m talking about a proper understanding.” 

“So what, you want to ask me questions?” 

“I think we should talk. Properly talk. A two way thing. Rose deserves more than us tolerating each other.” 

The Doctor looked down at the sleeping blonde on top of him and nodded. 

“You took her back didn’t you? To see Pete?” 

The Doctor sighed, trust Jackie to go in with the hard questions. “Yes I did, she asked and I didn't have the heart to say no. Things got… out of hand. Rose ended up being with him so he didn’t die alone. It was hard on her, but she was glad she had that opportunity. The timelines changed. You wouldn’t remember the previous timeline. He died alone, Jackie. Rose grew up with you telling her that her Dad died alone.”

Jackie looked emotional and the Doctor looked away for a minute to give her the chance to compose herself again. 

“I know you worry. Parents do worry about their children, but I would protect Rose with my last breath. If you saw her out there, she’s so capable of handling herself. She’s brave, kind, passionate, strong and happy. Her joy is infectious. People are better people for having met her. She makes a difference Jackie. How many people can say their daughter has saved countless planets and lives?” 

Both of them looked down at the sleeping Rose, her chest still steadily rising and falling as she lay on the Doctor, oblivious to the fact she was being talked about. 

“I know, i know you will keep her safe. You sent her back to me and that was the strongest message you could send. Actions speak louder than words and all that. Don’t tell her i said this, but i’m pleased she went back. I wasn’t at the time, but looking at the two of you now…” 

Jackie’s voice was steady, but she looked wistful and the Doctor wondered if there was more she wasn’t saying. 

“Jackie I know you think I just kidnapped your daughter and ran away, but it honestly was not like that. We were supposed to be only 12 hours after we left. I think the TARDIS got pulled off course because of the invasion. It was only a few days for us, we went on a few trips, Rose asked if she could come home to see you and pick some stuff up and I agreed. No matter how things were with me and you, I would never stop Rose from seeing her family. I can never see mine again, not ever. Rose deserves better than that. Nobody should be in that position.” 

This time Jackie looked more intrigued than emotional. “Rose said you had no family. I’m sorry, the pain of losing my Pete… well, it’s hard.” 

For some reason, the Doctor actually believed she was sincere. He had seen for himself that day at the wedding how much she cared about Pete, but he felt it was more than that somehow. Was it possible she was starting to trust him, just a little bit?

“I lost everyone Jackie. My whole people, my whole planet. All my friends and family. everyone, just lost in an instant,” he tried not to let his voice crack as he thought about those people he had lost. “I would never keep Rose away from her family. She’s so special, so caring. The first time I told her there was nobody left, she reminded me that I had her. Most people would have run away screaming, but she tried to help. She did help.”

“She’s right you know. You do have her. You have a family. We might be dysfunctional, I might not like everything you have done or will do, it might not even be what I had hoped for Rose, but family is together in spite of all that. I think we’ve been family since you sent Rose home from the future, tried to keep her safe.” 

The Doctor smiled, touched more than he would have admitted. 

“Peace?” he questioned. 

“Peace,” Jackie replied. 


	14. Carolling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was loosely based on a home my Grandad was in, the last Christmas before he died. We were lucky and he moved to a new home at the very beginning of the January, but I liked the thought of bringing some cheer to a place like that. 
> 
> Fun fact - 3 years ago I taught my class to sign Away in a Manger and they performed it in the school carol concert. I have since heard of several people doing it so it got a sneaky mention. 
> 
> This chapter is for all the people who have brightened my 2020. You know who you are!

Rose awoke the next morning to the sensation of being watched. Initially she snuggled further under the covers, trying to escape it, but then she heard her mum’s voice telling someone that she had never been a morning person. Her brain fought through the sleep induced fog to put the pieces together, making her sit bold upright when it finally succeeded. 

“Why are you staring at me?” she ground out at the two people looking at her from her bedroom door. 

“The Doctor was just telling me about your sleep patterns,” Jackie replied, smiling. 

“Leave me alone or i’ll tell you about my sleep patterns!” she watched satisfied as they both scrambled to leave her. 

As much as there was a part of her that wanted to, she resisted the urge to go back to sleep and instead slipped out of bed. The Doctor was going to owe her a trip to a beach for all these early morning wake up calls. 

When she felt more presentable and marginally more awake she walked into the living room, again surprised to find the Doctor and Jackie happily chatting. 

“Who are you and what have you done with the Doctor and my Mum?” she asked, truly bewildered, stopping short of checking for zips in their foreheads. 

“The Doctor and I had a chat and we came to an understanding. We’re just trying to get on is all.” Jackie commented in the tone of someone who felt they didn’t have to explain themselves. The Doctor just beamed at her. 

“What are we doing today Rose?” he changed the subject tactfully. 

“Well actually i’ve arranged this morning for you both. You’re going to sing carols for Jubilee Court down the road.” 

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other in mutual horror. 

That was how they both ended up stood outside Jubilee Court, desperately bouncing around potential excuses between them. 

As they entered, it was clear the home had tried their best. It looked very Christmassy, despite the general run down look of the place beneath the tinsel. The radio was quietly playing in the background, enough to take the edge off the silence. They were enthusiastically greeted at reception with platitudes about how it meant so much to the residents. Once they had signed in they were asked to wait and the Doctor cursed Jackie for the seventeenth time since arriving. Rose just nodded, her lips pursed while she thought of all the ways she could make Jackie pay. Sure she could sing, had been in the choir at school, but she hadn’t sung since Jimmy Stones. She definitely wasn’t sure the Doctor could sing. It wasn’t like they had come across any planets where they had to sing for their life. 

The woman who came was wearing reindeer antlers and a jumper that closely resembled Mr Darcy’s reindeer one in Bridget Jones's Diary, worst of all she had a fake smile plastered on her face. Ironically her name was Bridget and she led them through to what she called the ‘day room’. It was like everything Rose had seen on TV and worse. The chairs were all in a circle facing the Christmas tree and apart from the odd groan or babble, the room was silent. Neither of them could think of anything less Christmassy. 

On their way over they had decided to begin with ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ and go from there. It seemed like a bad choice when faced with silent dull stares, but they proceeded to begin anyway. By the end of the first verse, to their amazement, one or two of the residents had actually begun to look at them, really look at them, not just stare in their direction. By the final verse an old gentleman had joined in. 

Rose held the Doctor’s hand as they sung ‘Jingle Bells’, another relatively simple and lively one. The transformation on the residents was amazing. It had gone from being a depressing place to be, to one full of cheer and hope. The two of them shared a glance that said it all. They would stay as long as they needed to. This was every bit as important as saving the planet - they were saving the spirits of these people. 

Bravely they decided to sing ‘Away in a Manger’ next. Rose remembered most of it from school and even attempted a few basic signs she half remembered. She was certain she was using the wrong hands and getting mixed up, but it was the effort that counted she thought as an old lady came and stood next to her. 

The lady actually wasn’t too bad, in fact the sound from the residents who were singing was passable. Rose continued to hold the Doctor’s hand and they kept glancing at each other, sharing snatched grins. The Doctor sung far better than Rose had expected him to. It was actually almost enjoyable, the two of them singing. Nobody was judging the quality of their voices, nobody was judging the way they frequently forgot the words as they moved onto carols they knew less well, there was just a room full of smiles where there had been glazed looks. 

Eventually though the residents needed to break for lunch and the Doctor and Rose had run out of songs they even vaguely knew. They said goodbye to the people, a few of them coming up to thank them and shake their hands. The lady who had stood next to Rose turned to her as the others left. “Thank you. I can’t remember the last time I had such fun. I know it’s a dull place to spend your morning, so thank you for taking the time to come. We all really appreciate it.” 

Bridget led them out, actually genuinely smiling this time, they went through the process of signing out and they found themselves stood outside again, feeling a bit shell shocked. 

The Doctor turned to her in the way the lady had. “I’m proud of you. That was far harder than saving the planet, but you really made a difference to those people.” 

“We made a difference. It was a team effort.” 

They grinned at each other for a moment, before the Doctor pulled her into a walk. “Come on, I’m hungry.” 

“Of course you are,” Rose sighed. “Just promise me one thing?” 

“Anything Rose, you know that.” 

“Let’s never tell my Mum she was right.” 

The Doctor looked amused for a moment, before turning serious, then horrified. That was when he nodded frantically in agreement. 


	15. Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe not the 'ring' people were hoping for, but this felt fitting regardless. 
> 
> Dedicated to the lovely people who helped me to brainstorm the 'shopping' chapter and suggested Jackie's reaction to the parcels!

The doorbell rang as they were sitting down to a late lunch. Jackie stood up reluctantly to fetch it, squeezing in a bite of her sandwich before she left the table. They heard Jackie exclaim when she opened the door, before a lot of shuffling and banging. When Jackie arrived back, she looked furious. 

“Your parcels have arrived,” she ground out reluctantly. Rose looked bewildered at the Doctor, who suddenly looked delighted and bounded up. Jackie sat down to her sandwich, glaring at the Doctor as he retreated. Rose sighed and decided to follow the bounding, pin striped form disappearing down the hall. She froze when she saw the ‘parcels’. The whole of the entrance was filled with parcels. They were no longer snowed in, but apparently they were parcelled in. 

“Seriously? What could you possibly have bought?” 

“Well they’re not all for me!” the Doctor exclaimed as he ripped open the first one. “Look, this one is for you!” he thrust something yellow at her and ripped into the next one as she held them up. Banana leggings. Black leggings covered in what looked like bright yellow, cartoon bananas. 

“Your present was a pair of banana themed leggings. Right. Thanks,” she wasn’t sure whether to laugh or join Jackie in glaring at him. 

“You’re welcome!” the Doctor exclaimed loudly as he proceeded to pull out what looked like a box of banana related food items from his latest parcel, obviously completely missing the sarcasm in her voice. 

Rose settled for joining Jackie. This was not how she had planned on spending the afternoon. Together they glared at the Doctor as they finished their sandwiches and ate their tea. Honestly, anything would have been better than watching the Doctor exclaim over random objects and Jackie grip her mug tighter and tighter. 

The tea was finished and Jackie and Rose were halfway through an episode of Eastenders when the Doctor had finally found a home for all of the objects and taken the packaging down to the bin. Jackie was anything but relaxed and Rose had a horrible feeling any progress between the two of them had been lost. What exactly did he think Jackie wanted a singing rice maker for anyway?

As the Doctor sat next to Rose she felt the sofa sag, but she refused to look at him, even when he offered her a taste of the banana jam, steadfastly focussing on the TV. This gave the Doctor an excuse to talk through the programme however and Rose could feel Jackie getting more and more cross. 

“Come on Doctor, let’s go for a walk in the snow,” she offered, feeling the need to put space between the two of them. Rose was just putting her hat on when the phone rang. She exchanged a look with Jackie, but picked the phone up reluctantly. A familiar voice was on the other end. 

“Mickey!” Rose exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at the Doctor as he rolled his eyes. Apparently they had reached petty. She didn’t care. For about five minutes she managed a normal conversation with Mickey, who was surprised to hear she was still around. Five minutes before the Doctor started picking things up and she spotted Jackie looking mutinous. Hastily she invited Mickey round and hung up. 

This time they nearly reached the front door before the doorbell rang and they were forced back into the flat, leaving the oblivious Doctor and Jackie in close proximity. Rose hurriedly ushered Bev in and pulled the Doctor out the door. 

Rose felt her shoulders relax as soon as they were out in the fresh air. It wasn’t really the Doctor’s fault, he just seemed to have a knack at winding her Mum up. She could picture him at the computer now, excitedly ordering gifts for people. In many ways he really was like a toddler, he hadn’t yet realised that just because he liked it, didn’t mean everyone else would. Their hands slipped together as they climbed down the stairs towards the exit and her worries slipped away, they just needed to stay away for long enough for her Mum to also calm down. Hopefully Bev would help. 

“What is it Rose?” predictably the Doctor questioned her. He couldn’t notice her Mum steadily getting more and more furious, but he noticed her being a bit distracted. 

“I know you thought you were doing something nice by ordering gifts for people, but your gifts are not always appropriate. You’ve only just made peace with my Mum, I really don’t want you to lose it again!” 

“I thought your Mum would love a rice maker! It will really make her rice better!” the Doctor pouted. 

“Which is a lovely thought, but have you thought that maybe she doesn’t have room for any more things in her kitchen? Especially when said machine performs a function she can do. Not everyone has a bigger on the inside spaceship with bigger on the inside kitchen cupboards. 

“I’m not saying you were wrong, just that maybe next time you should ask me before you buy? Also maybe you should give Mum some space for a bit.” 

The two of them wandered off in companionable silence, the Doctor appearing to digest the information. 

“Do you want your last present then?” he asked almost shyly. 

“Yes Doctor, as long as it’s not more banana leggings.” 

She felt the loss the minute he let go of her hand, even if it was only to rifle around in his pockets. Clenching and unclenching her hand and giving herself a talking to at the same time she tried to persuade herself the pang was just the cold. 

The Doctor pulled out what initially looked like a snowglobe and she looked at him curiously. Inside was a snowman with a bell in his hand, in a snow scene straight out of a Christmas card, log cabin and all. 

“Shake it,” he insisted. 

Doing as she was told she shook the snowglobe gently, grinning hugely as she heard the tiny ringing sound of a bell. As the snow settled around the snowman she saw it was him who was ringing the bell. Rose just gaped at the Doctor in stunned disbelief. 

“I wanted to get you something Christmassy to fit in with your Christmas. My research told me that snowglobes are very popular, but it seemed a bit boring so I upgraded it with the sonic.” 

He looked nervous, scratching the back of his neck so she launched herself at him, carefully protecting the snowglobe as she hugged him. 

“It’s perfect. Thank you,” she whispered softly into his neck.


	16. North Pole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one completely ran away with me. I may yet write an extended version as a standalone fic as I don't feel like i'm finished with this just yet. I've taken a few liberties, but the place is real and costs a scary amount of money. 
> 
> I virtually fell asleep writing this last night and then had a tough day today. Hopefully tomorrow i'll be able to bring this back up to speed!

The Doctor had been planning this for the last few days. Twice he decided he wasn’t going to do it and twice he talked himself back into it. The gift debacle with Jackie had left him completely unsure of himself. Was this one of those occasions where he thought he was doing something nice, but hadn’t thought it through properly? 

Eventually, he decided he had nothing to lose by doing it. This was Rose, the worst that could happen is that she’d laugh at him, or explain why he had got it wrong. He wanted this to be perfect though, more perfect than the snowglobe, something completely him. Not so much a present (although it could be considered such) but a message. A message about their future. 

It was not without some small hesitation therefore that he asked Rose to join him for a short trip in the TARDIS. Surprised, but not unhappy, she agreed. The two of them disappeared into the TARDIS with promises of a speedy return. 

Seconds after the doors shut the Doctor had them in the vortex, with strict instructions to Rose about what to wear - the warmest of warm clothes. Nothing for fashion reasons, it has to be purely practical. The Doctor even implied he was getting changed for once. He was purposefully keeping it vague, wanting to surprise her with their final destination. 

When she arrived back in the console room, she had indeed followed his advice, but she was glaring at him.

“This had better be worth it!” She threatened without sincerity. The Doctor just laughed. 

“Rose Tyler, you wanted Christmas, I give you- the North Pole!” flinging the doors open for dramatic effect. 

Outside it was white. It was so bright it was almost blinding. Eventually their eyes adjusted to the light and they could see the thick piles of snow as far as the eye could see. 

“Wow!” He heard Rose breathe next to him. She was right, it was immensely beautiful, crisp and clear, even if the cold blowing through the doors was biting. Even with his superior biology he needed to dress appropriately for these conditions to avoid getting frostbite. He even had a small backpack, but refused to be drawn on why he needed it. 

Grabbing her hand in his, he pulled her gently in front of her, allowing her to take those first steps outside, just as she had done in Cardiff so long ago. Just like before she carefully stepped out, forming a perfect footprint. Together, they moved forwards across the snow. It was slow going, the thick snow was hard to walk in.

The silence was also a new experience for Rose, although not for him. It was beautiful in its own way. There were so few places on planet Earth where you can experience true silence, it was almost humbling to be able to hear it. 

“Are you ready for your surprise?” He quizzed her as they walked, the TARDIS becoming just a faint blue blob in the distance. 

“I thought this was my surprise,” she panted by way of reply. “The North Pole?”

“That’s just the first part of it.”

She grinned and allowed him to lead her onwards. They didn’t have proper trekking gear, but they were adequately protected against the cold. The temperature here goes as low as minus 30 degrees, making it vital for them to have dressed appropriately. Their destination was not far away now though so he uttered a few words of encouragement and continued to press forwards. 

As they got closer, they began to see the speck of colour on the horizon turn into an outline of a figure. The outline gradually became clearer and clearer until they could make out that it was in fact a woman standing there. 

“Hello, you must be John Smith, lovely to finally meet you!”she shook his hand enthusiastically and continued, “I must say, you are the most cryptic customer we have ever had. You must be Mrs Smith, how lovely to meet you, I hope you both had a smooth journey.” 

With that she led on, leaving the Doctor and Rose gaping after her. Someone who could talk more than the Doctor, that really was impressive. 

As they followed the woman (the Doctor suddenly realised she hadn’t formally introduced herself, but remembered she signed her name as Hilary), Rose mouthed ‘Mrs Smith?’ at the Doctor, who attempted to shrug his shoulders, but with all the layers it was more of a twitch. Instead, he shook his head and filled her in about the woman’s name. Rose looked really excited and he mentally congratulated himself on a job well done. 

Hilary led them to what looked like a large glass conservatory. As she let them inside and turned the lights on, it looked just like a cross between a studio flat and a luxury hotel room, apart from the glass surroundings. A double bed, wooden furniture forming a kitchen area and a door which she assumed led to a bathroom. Through the windows they could clearly see the endless snow surrounding them. 

With talk about security, chef services and a wilderness guide, she left them in peace. As soon as she closed the door behind her, the Doctor turned to face Rose properly and gauge her reaction. 

“So, what do you think?” He asked when she didn’t say anything. 

“I think it’s beautiful and incredible and is this really ours for the night?”

“Yep. This place is utterly private as well. Not as though you’re going to get anyone just ‘passing by’ on the North Pole.”

“When are we?” 

“Only 15 years in your future. 2020, rubbish year, but a company did open the first hotel in the North Pole. It’s only open for one month of the year and is very exclusive, although I guess with a private helicopter being the usual method of arrival it would be.”

Rose shook her head in amazement, but a grin began to form as she took in her surroundings once more. 

“I can’t believe I’m actually going to stay at the North Pole!” She exclaimed, but then her face fell. “I haven’t got any of my stuff.”

“First of all, luxury hotel, you’ll be amazed at what they provide. Second of all…” he pulled the backpack off for the first time and opened it. “Backpack is bigger on the inside, I packed anything you might need while you were getting changed.” 

He was surprised, but not displeased when she launched herself at him, kissing his cheek. 

The Doctor made them a mug of tea each and they settled on the bed, content to watch the night draw in. Days were much shorter here, but the sunset was beautiful to watch, oranges and pinks filling the sky, reflecting off the snow. Sometimes they talked, sometimes they just sat and watched. The silence was as comfortable as the conversation and the hours passed at a steady pace. 

As night drew in, they still found themselves captivated by the view outside, even as the dark meant their field of vision got less and less. With no natural light, eventually all they could see was the penetrating darkness. With glass surroundings they continued to look outside as they talked, laughing over fond memories, recounting stories of adventures past. 

They were just considering settling down for the night when, out of the darkness, a vibrant green light appeared, shortly followed by purples, pinks and blues. Waves of colour filling the sky, spreading outwards, onwards. Rose grabbed his hand and gasped, but neither of them took their eyes off the sight in front of them. The variety of colours, the wide expanse in front of them, even the brightness was more than any picture could do credit for. There was something so pure and magical that just couldn’t be described. 

Even as the best of the lights died down, the colours shooting across the sky, winding their way towards something, anything, were just as breathtaking. The two of them were silent for a long time once they finally finished and the darkness returned. 

It was Rose who broke the silence, “did you know that was going to happen?” 

“Well I used the TARDIS to calculate the date with the most likely possibility of having a showing, but short of coming and testing each night I couldn’t know for certain.”

“That was magical. This is incredible. I never thought I’d get to see things like this, experience things like this. I just…. thank you.”

“Thank you Rose. I need someone to share it all with or it is meaningless. You came into my life like those lights,” he sighed and rubbed his hands through his hair, “I know I’m a new man, but you’ve accepted me again and this was my way of saying thank you. For everything.” 

The unsaid words hung in the air and he hoped that Rose would catch them, the things he couldn’t say, might never be able to say. The way she had helped him begin to heal, to become a better man. He desperately hoped she knew how she had made him a better man. 

Rose had tears in her eyes and he gently wiped them away. 

“No crying. This is supposed to be happy,” he reminded her. 

“I’ve never been this happy.” Rose gave him a watery smile. “I-I’m so glad I met you.”

The shared memory made them both smile. 

“Remember Charles Dickens!” The Doctor exclaimed, purposefully changing the subject. Too much emotion would be the undoing of him, there was so much he still needed to work through and tonight was not the night to do that, tonight was a night for creating new, special memories in a place most people would never get to see. Just the two of them, as it should be. 


	17. Mittens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry i'm falling behind, i've had a rough couple of days. I'm hoping to catch up tomorrow!

Rose was worried they would be late home to her mother. Ironically, Timing had never been the TARDIS’s strong point when travelling in time. In the end however she was worrying for nothing, they arrived only a few hours after they had left, just after dinner. Her Mum was still fretting, she never had quite grasped the concept of how the TARDIS worked and was still convinced it would be months before they were back. Apparently the Doctor had tried to explain to her what went wrong before, but Rose supposed their visits had always been so erratic she had no reason to believe him. 

The Doctor parked the TARDIS inside the flat. Jackie wasn’t impressed at how much space it took up, but the Doctor refused to be parted so soon after being separated by the snow. In fact, Jackie wasn’t in a very accommodating mood. Rose supposed she was still angry about the parcels, but it seemed such a long time ago for the two of them that she had almost forgotten about it. Time travel did have a habit of messing up your sense of time. 

Just like now, Jackie was tired and making noises about going to bed, but for the Doctor and Rose, they had only got up a few hours ago and felt ready to begin the day. As the Doctor pointed out, it was night on the TARDIS when they wanted it to be, they didn’t have that luxury with Jackie. They allowed her to go through the motions of her evening routine, having some calm time in front of the tv, but as soon as she was settled they both went straight back into the TARDIS. 

“We could go somewhere again?” the Doctor suggested hopefully. 

“You know she’d find out and she’d never forgive us, most of all you. No, we’ll just have to find something to do to occupy our time while she sleeps.”

They bounced ideas back and forth for a while, but neither of them got excited about them. It was so restricting having to be quiet. 

“Now I know what you feel like,” Rose grumbled. 

“We’ll just have to do something outside the flat, go for a walk or something. It’s not really leaving, but if we’re not in the flat we can’t disturb her.” 

That was something they could both agree on. Rose headed to the wardrobe to borrow some warm clothes. Rummaging around in her bedroom would definitely wake her Mum. 

As she entered, she looked around in awe, taking in the floors of different outfits, vaguely categorised. Sometimes she didn’t think she would ever get used to living in a bigger on the inside spaceship. On the table in front of her lay a pair of cream fingerless gloves, with grey finger ends and pink and grey patterns running around them. They had a mitten section attached to the back that obviously looped over the fingerless ends to keep the finger ends warm. 

“Er, thanks, but I can’t wear mittens, I haven’t worn mittens since I was 5!”

The mittens remained stubbornly there, she could almost feel the TARDIS judging her. 

She walked around, finding a nice winter coat, the rainbow scarf she had worn in Cardiff, even a purple hat. The mittens remained on the table and strangely enough the gloves section was nowhere to be found. She began to feel like the TARDIS was playing games with her. 

“Look, I know you can understand me. I don’t want to wear mittens. Just a nice pair of gloves please.” 

The TARDIS remained silent and the mittens stayed on the table. 

Scowling, she snatched the mittens off the table, stuffed them in a pocket and headed back into the console room. 

“Come on, let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand, shooting her a questioning look when he felt her bare hands. She just shook her head and followed him down the stairs, into the cold night air. 

It was hard to believe that only a few hours ago they had been at the North Pole. Suddenly the amount of snow they had seemed tiny in comparison. They walked aimlessly, no purpose in mind other than being able to talk freely. Rose asked the Doctor about celebrations he participated in and surprisingly he opened up, telling her about events on different planets and, shyly, even telling her about an event on his planet. 

The night air was cold and Rose tucked her non-Doctor’s hand holding hand into her sleeve to try and protect it. Predictably, the Doctor noticed. 

“You’re cold!” He exclaimed, pulling them Rose gently to a stop. Just like on the balcony, he took her hands in his, breathing gently into her hands cupped in his. The sensation made her gasp and shiver, causing the Doctor to pull her in closely. 

“Why haven’t you got any gloves?” he chastised gently, giving her a pair from his pockets, leaving her feeling a bit silly at rejecting the mittens. She had been so worried he would laugh at her, she should have known he wouldn’t do that. It was enough to almost make her pull the mittens out, but she didn’t want to admit to her mistake. 

The Doctor gently put the gloves on her, taking such care it sent more shivers down her spine, causing him to look concerned, she smiled it away, focussed on his hands on hers, vaguely aware that he was talking about… mittens? He was talking about mittens?

“Of course what you really need is a pair of mittens. They keep your hands warmer than glove you know? Body heat between the fingers is more effective than the fabric separating them in gloves. We should get you a pair.”

Rose stared at him. “Err, Doctor,” she smiled half heartedly as she pulled the mittens, out of her pocket. 

“Oh you have some. Let’s get them on you then.” She watched as his brain caught up with him, “but why didn’t you?”

“The TARDIS hid all the gloves and left me with these. I thought you might think me a child for wearing mittens.”

“Rose the TARDIS chose those for you because they’re effective and they match your outfit perfectly, but I would never laugh at you. You’re perfect, mittens and all.”

As he kissed her, Rose thought maybe the TARDIS had known what she was doing after all. 


	18. Presents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly getting back to it after a difficult few days. Thanks for sticking with me!

Presents. All Rose could think about, when she eventually made it to bed, was about all the presents the Doctor had given her. There was the recent and obvious snow globe and the trip to the North Pole, if she thought deeper about it there was the gift of travelling with him, seeing all the wonderful places. The things he got her every single day, food and trinkets. What could she possibly give him in return? What exactly did one give for a 900 year old Time Lord who travelled in time and space?

She turned over and tried to think of something else. Her Mum, Christmas, everything she thought of kept returning to the Doctor. The problem was, nothing seemed quite right. Her brain ran through a million scenarios, but nothing was quite right. Money was another problem, she hadn’t earnt a penny since Henriks had exploded. How could anything she got compare to a night in an exclusive hotel at the North Pole, or the amazing things she saw everyday. 

Her brain stopped. The amazing things she saw everyday didn’t cost him anything, they just travelled there and explored. It was his time he was giving more than anything, explaining things to Rose and making the effort to find exciting things to show her. She had time. How could she make her time special though? 

Wrly she thought that he had a lot more than her time. He had her future, their future. For as long as she could, she intended to stay with that man. Forever. He had her forever. It wasn’t as though you could wrap forever up in a package though. Or could you? Throwing the quilt back, she crossed over to her dressing table, which had been doubling as a desk, and wrote some ideas on a piece of scrap paper. 

The problem was the scrap paper just wasn’t nice enough. The plain paper was in a cupboard in the lounge. Could she guarantee the Doctor wouldn't be there? After all she knew he didn’t sleep much. Taking a gamble that he would be on the TARDIS she opened her bedroom door. It was silent. 

When she entered the lounge she found him asleep on the sofa, sonic screwdriver in hand. He had clearly fallen asleep tinkering. With a silent chuckle she pulled a blanket over him, musing about how peaceful he looked whilst sleeping. Less than a minute later she had grabbed her paper and returned to her room. She found her nicest gold pen and began to write. 

After finishing, she looked at them satisfied for a moment before cutting them all carefully into squares, creeping back into the lounge and placing them under his sonic screwdriver. Finally satisfied, she crawled back into bed and finally drifted off. 

Her wake up call was a very excited Doctor shaking her awake. Blearily she stared at him waving the cards in front of her face. 

“‘S you present. ‘M sleeping go away.” she murmured and tried to turn over. The Doctor ran around the bed. 

“How does it work?”

Curiosity overtook her and reluctantly she sat up. “They’re tokens. You can choose to spend them when you want. Each one is valid for something different. Have you really never seen them before?”

He looked at them with awe. “You made these for me? Rose, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” 

She smiled as he shuffled away, still staring at the cards. Sleep almost forgotten, she climbed out of bed again when she heard the kettle. 

As he brought her a cup of tea he still had the cards in the other hand. “Can i use one now?” 

“Anytime you like. It’s your present.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than he reverently handed her a card. 

_ Valid for one hug _

She stood up and wrapped her arms around him, feeling her do the same. Her head came to chest height and she could hear the beating of his hearts underneath her. It made her smile when she felt him sigh happily. 

When they separated he grinned at her. “Best present ever!” 

For a change, he actually gave her some silence to finish her tea and wake up properly. Obviously feeling guilty about waking her up. Of course, the minute she put her mug down he bounced up and down on the sofa next to her (she sent a silent prayer of thanks that her Mum was still in bed) and handed her another card. 

_ Valid for one trip in the TARDIS _

She couldn’t resist the look of excitement and dressed quickly, meeting him in the TARDIS where he was hopping from foot to foot. 

“So, where are we going Rose?” 

“Well I was kind of hoping the TARDIS would help me. I want it to be a surprise,” she bit her lip as she waited for his response. 

“Picture where you want to go really clearly and then touch her central column. Concentrate on projecting where you want to go. I’ll programme everything but the destination.” 

It was hard to avoid being distracted, especially with the way he bounded around, but she repeated the words over and over again in her head, a vague picture also joining the words. 

‘I want to go somewhere peaceful and private.’

The central column wheezed into life, the sound filling the console room. When it stopped, the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled open the doors, revealing a breathtaking rocky landscape. The sound of flying creatures filling the air. They took several steps outside the TARDIS and stood looking around contentedly, hands tightly clasped. Silently he handed her another card.

_ Valid for one question. _

She pocketed it, but strangely he said nothing for a long time. Both of them continued staring at the creatures circling overhead before he turned to her. 

“How long are you going to stay with me?” 

The answer took no consideration. This was her real present to him.

“Forever.”


	19. Christmas jumpers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Absolutely nothing happens, but this is a bit of fun for them!

The Doctor bounced in excitedly as Rose and Jackie were eating lunch. He ignored the annoyed look on Jackie’s face and sat down heavily next to Rose, still holding his package behind his back. 

Rose gave him a grin that melted his insides before turning back to her turkey sandwich. Mentally he questioned why Jackie had bought such a big turkey, but brushed it aside in favour of speaking to Rose.

“I’ve got a surprise for you! Don’t worry Jackie, i’ve got one for you too.” he added as an aside when she scowled at him. 

“Oh good, you’ve cancelled all your deliveries.”

“Err no, not quite, but look! I got us all jumpers!” He held Rose’s blue jumper with a penguin on it up to show them both. Rose put her head in her hands and groaned. Jackie laughed. 

“You’ve got yourself your very own Mr Darcy there Rose,” with that comment Jackie picked the plates up and took them into the kitchen. 

The Doctor felt his heart sink. “Don’t you like it Rose?” 

“The thing is Doctor, Christmas jumpers are, well they’re old fashioned, ridiculed. Nobody wears a Christmas jumper if they want to be taken seriously.”

“Really?” he asked a little bit desperately. He knew it was a few years before they got super popular, but surely they couldn’t be unpopular now? Had he somehow got his dates wrong? 

He let his hands fall to the ground and murmured about putting it away in the TARDIS wardrobe. Rose’s hands stopped him.

“Hang on Doctor, i’ll wear it in the house, it does look cosy,” he grinned happily as she took it from him, “but only if you wear one too!” 

For a moment he looked desperately down at his beloved suit. How could he change out of this? Then he looked at Rose’s face and remembered the mittens. She needed him to do this. Somehow, something within her was still afraid of being ridiculed, despite what they’d been through together. Carefully, reverently, he shrugged his suit jacket off. 

“The shirt is staying though,” he waggled his finger at her, grinning happily at how the blue brought out the colour in her eyes. The colour suited her, she should wear it more often. 

The jumper he wore was identical to hers, with an inexplicable picture of a penguin wearing a scarf and a santa hat and ice skating. If you squinted at it you could even call it cute. 

They stood there staring at each other and Rose started to laugh. Her laugh got louder and louder until she became overcome by it and began silently shaking. His confused “What?” seemed to make her laugh more. 

When she calmed down a little, she managed to break the sentence down enough to tell him. “Only you could make a sodding Christmas jumper look good!” he held himself taller at that, before realising there was an implied dig in there. 

“Hey!” he exclaimed. 

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Jackie chose that moment to walk back in from the kitchen as Rose was calming down. This time Jackie burst into laughter, pointing at the pair of them, overcome with giggles, gasping for breath. She just about managed to breath out, “you!” as she bent over. It took her longer than Rose to calm down and when she did they could both visibly hear her breathing carefully to attempt to keep the laughter under control. The Doctor pulled Rose into his side as he saw her tense up out of the corner of his eye. 

“You make the penguin look beautiful!” he whispered to her as Jackie started rifling through cupboards. The two of them shared a bewildered look as the drawers were pulled out, finally hearing Jackie exclaim.

“Gotcha!” and brandish a camera in front of them. Rose squirmed, but a stern look from Jackie made her freeze. 

“Right, smile now,” she held up the disposable camera, probably full of holiday pictures, carefully looking through it as she tried to line the picture up for the perfect shot. 

“Probably got her finger over the lense” he whispered to Rose as he watched Jackie taking her time to frame them both perfectly against the tree. She looked him in the eyes, smiling hesitantly, before genuinely laughing. They almost forgot the camera was there as they laughed with each other, his arm still wrapped around her, until they heard the tell tale click of the camera. 

“Perfect!” Jackie exclaimed, “One for the family album.” 

Rose hesitated for a moment, before smiling sweetly at the Doctor. “Doctor, do you happen to have another jumper? I don’t want my Mum to feel left out.” 

He grinned back at her and grabbed the spare one for Jackie, handing it to Rose who advanced menacingly towards her Mum. Jackie visibly gulped and her eyes darted around as though weighing up her chances of escape. She obviously didn’t think much for her chances because her shoulders sagged and she allowed her daughter to put a third penguin jumper on. 

“We should really have a mother, daughter photo for the album, don’t you think?” he waggled the camera he had collected when they were distracted. Both blondes glared at him, but stood in front of the tree anyway. 

For a second he stared at the tiny black box in front of him, trying to remember what to do with this piece of outdated technology. Fortunately he saw the scroll and remembered to turn it across. It didn’t take him nearly as long to line up the shot and he remembered to keep his fingers well out of the way. 

This time Rose rounded on him. “Turnabout is fair play Doctor, you should know that.”

There were a lot of photos taken that afternoon. When they were eventually developed some of them made their way onto the TARDIS where one particular photo remains the last thing he looks at when he goes to sleep. In the meantime the Doctor retrieved a digital camera with a timer on from the TARDIS and they managed to get a nice picture of the three of them. Their Christmas was captured in a single shot. 


	20. Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this turned out sounding a bit like a children's story, but hopefully it is sweet and cute as intended. 
> 
> I had to really fight the urge to make a seriously corny joke at the end! I'll leave that bit up to your imagination.

What is love? The Doctor wondered, not for the first time. How could you possibly pin it down, define it? I mean, sure he had felt it before. Love for his children, love for his friends, love for R- people he travelled with. Love was that kept the universe going. He saw it, time and time again, amazing, brave things people did for love. Pete Tyler standing in front of that car for Rose, Nancy hiding Jamie away so he stood a better chance, Jack… well that thought was too painful. 

The point is that love drove people to do wonderful things, which more than counteracted the hate every time that popped up. Love always saved the day, always triumphed, even if the cost seemed too great. 

“Jackie, what is love?” Jackie went bright red and made some excuse about the kettle. That just left him more confused. Putting that question to one side for the moment, he decided to think about a different question. 

Where is love? It was Christmas and love was supposed to be everywhere. Everyone talked about peace and love at Christmas time. He decided to go for a walk. Clear his head. Rose offered to go with him, but he encouraged her to spend some time with her Mum. A happy Jackie made his life far easier. 

He observed the snow had nearly gone and smiled, it had been surprisingly fun while it lasted, but he could see how hard it was for people like Jackie to do the things they needed to do. His brief time here had taught him as much about humans and humanity as many of his years put together. It had become his mission to answer this question however, more than a mission, he wanted to show Rose love, add it to her Christmas experience. 

There was a homeless man sat by one of the towers, wrapped in a sleeping bag. The Doctor brought him a hot drink, some food and the number of a homeless shelter. The man thanked him profusely, tucking into his food while it was still warm. 

“Just one question,” the Doctor asked. “Where is love?”

“Why, right here o’course. Wha’ you just did was an act o’ love. I know we ha’n’t met before, but twas love for others that made ya share.”

The Doctor thanked him and left him to his food with wishes of better luck. He decided a cafe was what he needed. Time to sit and observe the people around him. Maybe someone would say something. 

He hadn’t been there long when a young woman entered. She looked on the verge of tears. The Doctor beckoned her over, she reminded him of a Princess he had once met on another planet. 

As they talked, he realised she was miserable in her job at a local shop. Her boss had shouted at her again for something out of her control. He couldn’t help but think she reminded him of Rose when they first met. The almost tears were due to stress and worry. They talked about her options and half an hour later she had decided to train to be a teacher, she already worked at a local youth centre because she loved it, teaching was something she would be good at. 

“Can I ask before you go, where is love?”

“Love is here, love is the way you helped me, love is what you have for the Rose you haven’t stopped talking about. Love is what that lady has for her job.” She pointed to the woman who was serving the table next to them, she had a wide genuine smile and hummed quietly as she worked. 

“I’ve got to go now, but thank you. I’ll never forget how you helped me” With that he was on his own again. 

Slowly, he made his way back towards the Powell Estates, mulling over everything he had learnt. If love was in the small actions as well as the big ones, the implications were huge. He needed to talk to Rose, she would help him make sense of it all. All thoughts of surprising her were done, he was just too confused. 

She hugged him when she saw him, obviously as pleased to see him as he was to see her. 

“Rose, i need to talk to you. I wanted to surprise you by taking you somewhere where love is at Christmas time. Everyone talks about love at Christmas. I asked people where love is and the homeless man said it was me getting him some food and the sad woman said it was in me inviting her to sit with me and the woman who enjoyed her job. She said it was the way I talked about you. Rose help me, where is love?”

Rose just stared at him for a minute, completely stunned. Whatever she had expected him to say, it certainly wasn’t that. When her brain finally started working again she opened and closed her mouth for a minute before any sound came out. 

“Doctor of course love is here. You’re my best friend. I… care about you. Love is when you took me to show me the North Pole just to make me happy, or when Mum makes me a cup of tea because i’m tired. Doctor, love is just as much about the little things as saving people and making grand gestures. Maybe even more so.”

“But how can i take you somewhere where love is?” 

“You already did. When you took my hand and said run. When you said it travels in time. You have the biggest capacity for love I know Doctor, you love everyone you meet. You’re always trying to help people, in big ways and small. Your TARDIS is full of love. Full of joy. All the trips we make are guided by love.”

“In that case Rose Tyler, would you come for tea in the TARDIS?” 

“You bet I will!”


	21. Star

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to dedicate this chapter to [SunnieBelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunnieBelle/works) One of the kindest people I know, getting to know her has been a highlight of my 2020. Her encouragement with my writing is one of the reasons i'm still posting now. Merry Christmas my lovely friend! I hope you enjoy some stargazing goodness! 
> 
> Thank you everyone who is still taking the time to comment and leave kudos! I know this is a very busy time of year so it honestly means so much to me.

Rose smiled at the Doctor’s excitement. He was determined to do something special for her, had told her he had a treat lined up. He spent ages looking at a map and doing some calculations, but he refused to tell her what they were doing, other than it had to be at night and she needed to wrap up warm. 

Apparently if they wanted the best location they had to travel by TARDIS. Jackie was invited and Rose had even managed to persuade her to think about it, but she knew in reality Jackie would never voluntarily agree to TARDIS travel, even if they were only using at as a 'London hopper'. Jackie tried to persuade them to take a bus, but the Doctor had a point, the TARDIS was much quicker. 

Even once they were in the TARDIS, the Doctor wouldn't tell her where they were going. He did step back to allow her to open the doors however. They were on a hill. A hill that looked like many in and around London, Rose wasn’t which it was, but didn’t care either. From behind her the Doctor appeared holding a basket. 

Theatrically he spread his coat along the ground inviting her to join him on it, pouring them each a glass of something bubbly from the basket. 

"Star gazing!" He announced as she snuggled closer to him. "Not entirely Christmassy, but not not Christmassy either." 

He looked so pleased with himself Rose gave him a gentle nudge. 

"Yeah yeah, it's pretty, but do you know what that constellation is called?" 

He groaned. "At least choose something hard Rose." He wrapped an arm around her and used the other to point. 

"If you look at this star here, no this one. This is the North Star. It's the brightest star in the sky. Sailors used to use it to navigate by because it appears motionless while the other stars appear to rotate around it. If you follow that line over here, you see it looks a bit like a bear. We call that the little dipper, or the little bear.” 

He held her arm, pointing it at the position which he was discussing. A tingle spread from his touch through her arm and she shivered slightly, causing him to hold her tighter. He laughed as he noticed she was wearing the mittens that had caused her such concern the other day and she smiled back at him, waggling her fingers within the mittens. The tension was broken and she rested her head on his shoulders, staring at the sky. 

The Doctor pointed out various constellations to her. Some she had heard of, others she hadn’t. The prosecco was slipping down nicely, they had nearly finished their first glass. It wasn’t something she normally drank, but it was very nice and felt very indulgent. She couldn’t believe it when the Doctor withdrew a full picnic from the picnic basket. 

Their food was punctuated by conversation about stars and astronomical events. Apparently astronomers thought the star in the Christmas story had been Jupiter and Saturn aligning to provide the appearance of a bright star. That led him to tell her about a lovely restaurant on one of Saturn’s rings. As lovely as it sounded, Rose couldn’t imagine anywhere she would rather be right now. The last few days had been surreal and incredible. A part of her was afraid the bubble would burst when they travelled properly again. 

As though hearing her thoughts the Doctor withdrew a miniature Christmas cake from the basket. 

“I know it isn’t the Glastin cake you’re so fond of, but this felt more fitting. We can get some more Glastin cake next time we pop in.” 

Just like that she was reminded of how incredible her new normal was. Would she be feeling these nerves if it was her old Doctor? Ever since he took her hand in that basement she had been living something beyond her wildest dreams. Shaking herself she decided the nerves were due to the fact she had never travelled properly with this Doctor. Surviving a week in Jackie’s flat was more than enough of a test though. Anyone who brought bubbles and a picnic stargazing had to be even better with the universe at his disposal. 

Not noticing her silence at all, the Doctor had continued talking. “Do you know Rose, I think it’s a new record for us. Nearly a whole week of linear time and no prison cells or angry mobs.” 

Somehow he managed to talk and cut the cake into two perfect halves. Without knowing what he was saying, he was right, this bubble of amazing wouldn’t feel so good without the highs of the adventures thrown in. She wasn’t quite sure if that gift of the gab he seemed to have would talk them into or out of trouble, but it would be fun finding out. 

“That of course is the constellation Cassiopia, made famous by that silly movie your Mum made us watch.” 

Of course he was still talking around his cake. 

“Oi, I like Serendipity!” she reacted instinctually. “It’s a real constellation then? I thought the movie had made it up.”

“Nope completely real, although not really how they described at all. Look.” Sitting behind her, he took her arm again, positioning himself so he could nearly see from the same angle as her and tracing the constellation, causing her breath to hitch. 

His face was inches from her. For a moment she questioned whether she had the willpower to resist, but then she gave in anyway, closing the gap between us. His lips were surprisingly warm and she closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss properly. He wrapped his arms around her. 

When they broke apart she leant back against him. 

“I think I like stargazing!” she commented happily as she rested her head back onto his shoulder. 


	22. Christmas pudding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for [DoctorRoseTennant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoctorRoseTennant/works), who is super supportive and has encouraged so many Doctor Who chats recently! Merry Christmas! 
> 
> I'm sorry American readers, but it will always be Christmas pudding to me! I didn't actually learn anything new writing this chapter, but there were a lot of facts I had forgotten. Who knew Christmas pudding was so interesting?

Jackie was ready for them when they returned. For some absurd reason, she stood in the doorway singing the second verse of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’. For a moment Rose wondered if she had gone mad. That was before she noticed a certain glint in her eye. 

“Mum?” she questioned, almost excitedly. 

“Of course! You can’t have Christmas without it!” 

The Doctor looked between the two of them, looking completely confused. It was a rare look and both blondes savoured knowing more than he did, even if it was just what was cooking in the kitchen. 

Rose was the one to put him out of his misery. “It’s Christmas pudding Doctor! Mum’s right, we can’t have Christmas without it,” she sighed at his blank look. 

“In America they call it figgy pudding, like the song. It was originally called plum pudding, but doesn’t actually have plums in it, that’s just what they called dried fruit. I’m really surprised you haven’t come across it before.”

“Well I’m not normally around long enough for desert,” he replied defensively. “So we’re just going to sit and eat figgy pudding then? Not that i’m objecting!” he added quickly at the look both women shot him. 

Jackie smiled. “Nah, i’ve got you some turkey and ham pie first!” 

“Oh goody, more turkey!” the Doctor muttered sarcastically under his breath. 

“Excuse me?” Jackie began to display the patented Tyler glare and he gulped, stumbling over his words in his hurry to get them out. 

“I said, ooh more turkey, my favourite!” she shot him a suspicious glare, but fortunately went back into the kitchen. 

As soon as Jackie was out of sight he turned to Rose. “So what do I need to know?”

“Well there’s a coin in it so watch your teeth!”

“What possible reason would you have for putting a coin in a pudding?” 

“It’s supposed to bring good luck to the person who finds it.”

The Doctor internally thought about how silly human superstition was, but just nodded at Rose. 

“Anything else?”

“Yeah, this is Mum’s family recipe. She makes it every Christmas. Only didn’t on Christmas Day because we were busy with alien invasions.” 

Jackie bustled in then with the turkey and ham pie. The Doctor couldn’t deny it was lovely, but it would have been nicer if he hadn’t had turkey in one form or another for nearly a week now. He was however relieved when Jackie announced it was the last of the turkey. When he thought about it Jackie had probably done just about everything known to man with turkey. Rose appeared particularly excited about this pudding however so he hoped it was tasty. The picnic had been lovely, but was little more than a snack to go with the alcohol really. Bits to pick at whilst they ate the picnic. 

He couldn’t have been more surprised when Jackie walked in and the pudding was ON FIRE! Before Rose could open her mouth he was on his feet searching for something to put the fire out. He grabbed his glass of water, alarmed at how calm Jackie was, was just about to throw it when Rose grabbed his hand and it spilled over his arm instead. 

“Watch,” she insisted and he sat down warily. He noticed Jackie was eying him just as warily as she set the pudding down. When he turned his focus to the pudding he noticed that the flames were blue and the flames were lapping around the pudding, encasing it in fire, but not actually doing anything to the pudding underneath. He relaxed and Rose grabbed his hand. 

“It’s just the alcohol. You soak the pudding in brandy or something and then set it on fire. There are lots of traditions with Christmas pudding. This is just one of them. Most of them are to do with good luck or the Christmas story. Some of them have survived intact, others are less popular now.” 

They all watched as the flames died out having consumed all the alcohol they could. The silence filled the room, the flames having sparked thoughts in all of them. His eyes kept returning to Rose and he noticed she had a slight smile on her face. Jackie leapt up to make custard however and the spell was broken. 

Jackie was the one to slice the pudding, giving them a slice each. They didn’t eat in silence, Jackie led the conversation, telling them funny stories about making the pudding over the years. Rose remembered some of them happening, but some were new to her. All of the stories were new to the Doctor, but somehow being filled in on the family history made him feel part of it. By now he knew Jackie well enough to picture her in all of the stories she told. They were laughing at a story of a young Rose demanding to stir the pudding because she had been told in school everyone in the family was supposed to stir it and make a wish, when Jackie froze, pulling a five pence out of her mouth. 

“Five pence?” he questioned, “I would have thought it would be a pound?”

“Well I guess technically it can be whatever you want. Traditionally it was a silver sixpence, but five pence is the closest we have now,” she turned back to her Mum as soon as she had finished replying. 

“Mum you get the good luck!” Rose then exclaimed to her Mum. Of course the Doctor didn’t believe in silly things like coins bringing good luck, but he entered into the spirit of the occasion. 

“Jackie i’m sure you’re going to have a good year!” 

Jackie was grinning away and suddenly the Doctor understood what it was about this pudding that they loved. It was nice enough, but what they loved were the human rituals, the symbolism and the history. The event of it all. That was something he could understand. 


	23. Traditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by the video of David Tennant reading part of A Christmas Carol and also my own tradition of reading it every year! 
> 
> The quotes in italics are directly from A Christmas Carol and not my work.
> 
> Merry Christmas to everyone reading this, leaving kudos and comments! I hope you have a wonderful time, however you are spending it.

The Doctor sat patiently waiting for Rose to change into her pyjamas. He was excited about the plan he had for her. They had so little time left of their Christmas and he wanted to make it special for her. There would be other Christmases in the future, but there would only ever be one first Christmas. He had been researching Christmas traditions and he felt he had finally come up with something suitable for both of them. 

He smiled as Rose padded through in her slippers, fluffy boots she insisted on wearing whether it was cold or warm. Gesturing to the matching mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table first, he opened his arms wide so she could snuggle in next to him the way they both liked. She yawned. 

"Tired?" He queried. 

"Content."

  
  


"I've been researching Christmas traditions and I thought this was one we would both enjoy. Sharing a book! It can be our tradition." Rose grinned up at him. “The thing is, it would be fitting because my people used to read to each other. Not books of course, but it feels appropriate somehow.” 

From behind his back he pulled a tatty, paperback copy of A Christmas Carol and held it in front of them. 

"Charles Dickens!" 

"Well you could argue that was our first Christmas. Thought we could listen to it without the gas monsters this time." 

"Won't you miss the atmosphere of the blue wailing woman?" 

"Absolutely not. Settle down and we'll begin."

The minute he began with that famous first line he felt Rose express a shiver and smiled. 

_ 'Marley was dead to begin with. There was no doubt whatever about that.' _

The Doctor knew he read it well, his voice conveyed just the right amount of gravity, expression changing as the story developed. His Scrooge voice felt scarily accurate and Rose was clearly hanging on his every word. 900 years of practice certainly did help one to read aloud well. 

She gasped as he described the knocker of the door morphing into Jacob Marley. He knew she had read the story before, had lent her the copy after they met Dickens, but her expressions were as though she was hearing it for the first time.

He had to pause to remind her about her hot chocolate, she was so gripped in the story he was weaving. Watching her as he paused was like watching her come out of transe. She flashed him a smile and sipped her hot chocolate thoughtfully. As she drank she kept looking at him and then back down at her hot chocolate, it was usually a sign she was working out how to say something she was thinking. Sure enough, she opened her mouth to speak a moment later. 

“Do you think people really do have the power to chance, you know, like Scrooge did?” 

“Rose after all the things you have seen, how can you not believe in that?”

She still looked thoughtful. He pressed on. 

“Do you remember me when we first met?” 

“Yeah, you saved my life, told me to run for my life, told me if I told anyone I would get them killed and you were about to die. It was quite the first impression.” 

“Sounds familiar?” 

“But you didn’t hate the world?” 

“I wasn’t that far off. I didn’t feel like I deserved to live, I was locked in my own grief and self loathing. I had lost sight of the beauty in the world. Is that really so different from Scrooge who hated the world?” 

“I guess.”

“Listen to the rest of the story and see what you think.” 

Nodding, she put her empty mug back down and snuggled up for the next part of the story - the first ghost. 

_ ‘The curtains of his bed were drawn aside.’ _

Rose’s attention was just as rapt this time as it had been for the first part, this time however she wore a thoughtful air as he read about Scrooge going to his old school and then the Fezziwigs. She gasped in all the right places and snuggled in tighter at the sad bits. 

They took another short break after the first spirit. The Doctor rinsed their mugs out and they both stretched out after sitting in one position for so long. 

“So what you’re saying is, I was the ghost, teaching you to enjoy life again?”

“Oh Rose, you are so much more than a ghost. You brought life to me though. Taught me to enjoy it again. Taught me that I deserved to enjoy living again. Do you not remember?” 

“I guess I was too busy learning that life was an adventure. That i was braver than i ever thought I could be, living a life that was beyond my wildest dreams.” 

“You have always been worth something Rose. It was always there, you just needed someone to show you.” 

“Doesn’t mean it would have happened without you.”

“I have a feeling it would have happened in any universe.”

“You and me, we’re just right somehow. We fit.” 

He smiled indulgently at her, filled with memories of the first time they met. Her hand in his, down in the basement, refusing to give up. Full of good questions. It had been so easy to see her potential. 

She kissed him then, soft and slow, conveying a very strong message. Only when they broke apart did she finally express it in words. 

“I will always remind you that you are worth it.”


	24. Midnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I unexpectedly found time to finish this so have a double chapter day - Merry Christmas! 
> 
> I'm not really sure what this has to do with the prompt other than it is set at midnight, I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Midnight was nearing closer as they began reading the second spirit, the ghost of Christmas past. Rose commented that this was her favourite spirit and she was delighted when the Doctor agreed. The Doctor looked so proud of her when she made observations about the book, it almost made her want to pinch itself. Somehow, Rose Tyler had turned into someone who read Dickens and made insightful comments. 

The second spirit was showing Scrooge his Nephew’s party when midnight struck and they both started. A few years ago the flat next door had got a clock that chimed the hours. Rose barely even noticed it anymore, but in that moment of serious silence the noise had been enough to jolt them away from Victorian London. 

The Doctor gently marked their page and stood up, looking thoughtful. 

“Midnight,” Rose commented, “The witching hour.” She wasn’t entirely sure what made her say it, but it felt like an apt observation given they had both ended up looking out of the window that overlooked the estate.

After the story they had just been absorbed in, they found themselves staring out, looking at the world in a different way. They almost expected to see a spirit soar past them. 

"Do you think there are many people out there like the Cratchits?" Rose found herself asking. 

"Some. Your NHS certainly changed access to health care. True poverty on a wide scale is reserved for what you call the third world. There are people who struggle, but most do not struggle in the same way they once did. Of course that isn't to say your country doesn't have a long way to go. It will be many years yet before you properly eradicate poverty of any sort."

"I've never really thought about it. Growing up with Mum, well it was only ever the two of us. You grow up somewhere like this and it changes the way you see the world. People look down on us, but I can’t help but wonder if you have the same sense of community in isolated buildings."

"Community somehow survives. It means different things to different people. Some argue knocking down buildings like this eradicates community and maybe it does, but you humans are a creative, resilient lot. You find community in other ways. Just look at how many of your Christmas traditions both personal and universal involve others."

"I guess I never really thought about it like that before." She thought for a moment. "You’re right, giving presents, singing carols, feeding others, putting lights up. They're all about each other as well as ourselves."

"Those traditions would have died out long ago had you not valued community."

"Do all planets have a sense of community?"

"You've seen plenty yourself, what do you think?"

"I think some do. We've seen many who have an even stronger sense of community. I'm not sure they all do though?"

"Not in the way you understand it no. Some species really are just all about themselves. Do you really think the Daleks have a sense of community? Pride in their species and hatred of others, but not community." 

They both stared again thoughtfully at the midnight sky. The stars blinking in the darkness reminded her of stargazing just a short time ago. Once again she was reminded of what travelling in time did to mess up your body clock. Rose yawned and broke the silence with an ironic laugh.

"Midnight certainly makes you reflective."

The Doctor smiled. "I think the book helps with that as well. Ready for the last bit, or would you rather sleep?"

It wasn’t much of a choice. "You'll just have to put up with me sleeping longer tomorrow. I need to hear the ending now." 

The Doctor let out a chuckle, "you've read it before!" 

"Maybe, but I haven't heard you read it to me before. It's entirely different. I'm going to have to get you to read much more to me now." 

Dramatically he moaned, but a smile still spread across his face. "Quite the bookworm you've become."

"Yeah well, being friends with the author does tend to do that to you."

"I'm sure Charlie boy would be delighted you were reading his books."

They shared a smile, both reflecting on the author himself and the journey he had come on all those Christmases ago. One to rival his own stories certainly. 

"Are we just reading Dickens then, or are we expanding our repertoire?" 

"That depends on how good you are at reading really."

"Ooh Rose Tyler, I'll show you how good my reading is!" 

She laughed, teasing him. "Oh really?" This time she dodged just out of view as he reached for her, causing him to redirect his full attention to her, attempting to grab her just as she darted out of his grasp with a giggle. She was a bit worried about waking Jackie, but they both found themselves getting carried away with this game. On his third try he succeeded in getting an armful of Rose Tyler and kissed the top of her head as she instantly stilled. They both returned to staring out over the rooftops, this time with her in his arms. Her favourite place to be. 

With one last look over the midnight sky, they settled back on the sofa for the final part of the book. 


	25. Crackers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this on Christmas Day, but have only just managed to post this. Sorry!

Jackie eyed Rose suspiciously as she eventually walked into the lounge, bleary eyed, the next morning. 

"Late night last night?"

"We stayed up late reading A Christmas Carol yeah. I wanted to finish the book."

"That’s what you call it," Jackie chucked and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. 

  
  


When she came out again, she revealed a box of Christmas crackers. "I bought these in the sale. I was going to save them for next year,but then I thought it might be fun to do today while you're still celebrating Christmas. We can have a fry up brunch and crackers!"

Rose smiled. She loved how much of an effort her Mum was going to for her. 

"Thanks Mum, but you save them. You've spent enough money on Christmas this year, enjoy the bargain crackers next year."

"The thing is, they're musical crackers, look!"she pointed to the small writing on the back of the box. There were picture of xylophones and a rainbow stripe pattern, but no clue as to what the writing said without taking the box and reading it. 

A numbered xylophone in each one. A conductor will lead you in playing a tune. 

"I thought they would give us something fun, a bit different to do. We can ask Mickey round and himself will be here." Jackie continued. 

The Doctor reminded Jackie he had a name, semi politely. 

"Okay, you win. It sounds like fun. The Doctor and I are getting you the crackers for next year though." 

Jackie smiled and went to finish making the tea. The Doctor scowled, but Rose ignored him. Truthfully she had very little more idea what the crackers did than before she had read the writing, but her Mum was excited. It was New Year's Eve tomorrow and they had agreed they would leave after New Year's Day. An indulgent cracker game for her Mum was not a lot to ask for, especially when she had been so insistent about 'doing Christmas'. 

The brunch was ready within half an hour and they tucked in eagerly. Mickey who had arrived promptly, never one to turn down food, now found himself locked in an intense conversation with Jackie about the corner shop. The Doctor seemed quite happy with the food on offer and Rose was hungry. Consequently, they didn't actually touch the crackers until after they had all finished eating. Jackie was the first to pick one up. She offered it to Rose who accepted and pulled the other end. Mickey then pulled a cracker with Jackie, Rose with the Doctor, Rose with Mickey and reluctantly Jackie with the Doctor. As each one was pulled a mini xylophone dropped out. Each one a different size, with a number on it and a mini baton. There was a sheet with Christmas carols and numbers underneath. The game started to become clear. 

The Doctor made them all a mug of tea while Rose cleared away the table and they began. It had been decided that they would make do without a conductor as there were 6 xylophones and only 4 of them. Instead they attempted to sit in a line with the sheet in front of all of them. 

The Doctor and Jackie had been nominated to have two xylophones each - Jackie because she bought the crackers and the Doctor because he was the most likely to manage it and keep up (superior Time Lord brain and all of that). 

At first Rose read the numbers out and the others had to try and guess the tune, but without the context for timing it just sounded like a load of banging. Instead the Doctor had the idea that they try one song at a time. 

They had chosen 'We Wish you a Merry Christmas' as it looked like the simplest. It appeared they were wrong. Rose began by trying to read the numbers out to people, but then she kept forgetting her own xylophone, which the Doctor thought was hilarious. Instead they decided to take it a line at a time. The Doctor and Mickey managed surprisingly well, but Rose and Jackie still did not. 

The house was filled with laughter as the four of them attempted to play a simple tune. Soon Mickey was showing off half remembered skills with his rendition of 'three blind mice' having remembered the notes from recorder club at primary school. 

Jackie decided she was better off being the conductor and conducted them with the baton the wrong way round, Rose corrected her through tears of laughter, but Jackie just bustled about not having fancy things like recorder clubs when she was at school. 

Mickey decided to call the small lines of notes 'paragraphs' much to the Doctor’s annoyance, he glared at Mickey everytime he said it, but somehow they managed to get further through the tune with Jackie conducting and only having one note in the song to be responsible for. 

For some reason Jackie had the bright idea of performing to Bev and they found themselves practicing again and again under Jackie, a tough task master, more so now she didn’t have to remember the notes herself. The four of them had tears rolling down their eyes everytime someone made a mistake, hitting a 1 instead of a 2, or missing a note out. The laughter was only surpassed by the cheers when they managed to get a small section right. 

Finally, between them they just about managed to make it halfway through the song without a mistake. They all cheered and the Doctor proclaimed himself satisfied with that. You can’t improve on perfection after all. Unfortunately, he said it so seriously they could hardly see the bars in front of them for laughing. 

They all agreed they had never had such fun purely from a cracker before and Jackie decided they had been excellent value for money, putting the xylophones and the note sheet away for the next time they had an occasion to bring it out with a satisfied nod.


	26. Countdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter I got carried away with when writing. I wrote this chapter through sprints with people - if you were one of them thank you for helping me get into the writing zone again!

This was it. After everything they had been through over the past week, this was their last full day with Jackie. Today was New Year’s Eve, which meant tomorrow they were continuing on their travels. The Doctor was excited to get going, he hadn’t travelled properly in this body before and a week spent with Jackie was enough to drive anyone crazy. Yet that wasn’t quite true, after the initial dread and panic of being stuck here has subsided, he had ended up voluntarily agreeing to stay longer. 

Jackie was up early, which was something he didn’t understand as they would all be staying up late to see the New Year in. Apparently it needed a lot of preparation, although he wasn’t quite sure what you prepared, it was coming whether you liked it or not. 

Before he knew it, he was being roped into preparing food; chopping salad, peeling carrots and chopping potatoes. Rose conveniently wandered in as they were finishing setting the table, announcing that Mickey said he would be here just after lunch. The Doctor groaned, but he found he didn’t really mean it, Mickey was a long way from the terrified man who had clung to Rose’s legs, even if he was still fun to wind up. 

The morning flew by in a blur of jobs that needed doing. Jackie really had gone all out on this one, declaring that her Christmas had been spent with killer Christmas trees, robot Santa’s and alien spaceships, the least they could give her is a New Year’s Eve celebration.

Over lunch they discussed previous New Years, Jackie describing in painful detail the year she broke her leg falling off a table in the pub. Then it was Rose’s turn.

“Last year, although I guess it was the year before as someone made me miss a year,” she nudged him in the ribs, but he was distracted by the wince Jackie made to the reference, “we missed the New Year entirely. Mum and I saw it in just outside in the snow. Then just after Mum left and I was about to come up here this stranger told me I was going to have a really great year. I can’t remember his face now, but I reckon he was onto something ‘cause it was only a few weeks later that I met you.” Rose smiled and the Doctor laughed. 

“Nah, what are the chances? He was probably just a sweet drunk who thought you looked pretty.” Rose blushed and the Doctor wished he could shove those words back in his mouth. What had he been thinking? Jackie was stifling a giggle, but fortunately for him Mickey arrived, which caused enough of a distraction for people to forget.

In some ways the afternoon was dominated by clock watching. It was a very strange tradition, the Doctor felt, to be so led by the clock. They played trivial pursuit which passed the time nicely. Mickey was surprisingly good at it and Rose found her general knowledge had improved massively through her travels; they all laughed when a question about Hannibal came up and Rose spluttered the answer out in her excitement. The Doctor kept getting his time periods mixed up, which put him back on a fair level. 

Mickey was crowned the winner, taking the time to do his ‘I won the game’ dance before sitting back with the rest of them. Jackie roped Mickey in to helping her put food on the table, the sly grin she shot at Rose told him she was putting an end to his crowing. Mickey joined in happily, talking to Jackie about the repairs he would help her with in the New Year as they put bowls of crisps, salad platters and other buffet items out (the Doctor noted with a sigh of relief the lack of turkey). As they laid the food out Rose explained to the Doctor that Jackie always did a buffet on New Year’s Eve, allowing them to pick as they wanted throughout the evening. 

When they all had plates piled high with food, Jackie opened a bottle of Prosecco and shared it out, “got to have fizz on New Year’s Eve,” she explained as she poured it. Rose set up a game of Pictionary and explained the rules to he Doctor, while Mickey told them all about the New Year’s Eve he spent with Pamook, xxx and a few others at his house party. The Doctor was very relieved there was no wild party or visit to the pub this year. He could think of lots of lovely places he would happily take Rose to see the New Year in, but the Lamb and Flag was not one of them. 

Jackie decided that she would play on a team with Mickey, while the Doctor would play with Rose. Jackie was drawing first. She had the word ‘television’ which Mickey guessed instantly, moving onto coat, which took him longer to guess. The Doctor whispered in Rose’s ear that it looked like xxx, which made her snort with laughter, quickly muffled as Mickey glared at her. 

The Doctor had a turn next, drawing socks whilst complaining about the lack of alien creatures within the pack. Surprisingly, drawing socks was harder than it looked and he had three attempts at drawing it before he drew something that resembled socks enough for Rose to guess. It was a relief when it was Mickey’s turn. It did feel a bit unfair that the mechanic got the word ‘car’ but when he saw Mickey’s attempt at drawing he felt better. 

Over the course of the game, somehow the Doctor and Rose managed to snuggle closer together on the sofa, separating only for their individual turns and to sip at the Prosecco. Perhaps it should have been expected that as they got further down the bottle, the drawings would get more and more obscure and hard to recognise and they would find it more and more amusing. Perhaps that was the reason Jackie chose this game, but for the Doctor, it was a surprise to find himself joining in with such eagerness. They were playing a less formal version of the game so there was no clear ending, in fact Mickey suggested they make their own cards to extend the game. 

This proved to be more funny than anyone expected. Jackie trying to draw a Slitheen was a particular highlight. Everyone said the Doctor had an unfair advantage having TARDIS, but he was so keen on getting the details correct he forgot about the game until Rose started yelling at him to draw something else. Jackie opened another bottle of Prosecco and topped them all up before Mickey drew ‘sycorax’ with Rose giggling evilly beside him. It appeared that was her idea. He did a valiant job, but they did end up looking more like the rocks they were originally thought to be on the news broadcast. 

Eventually though, even tipsy Pictionary lost its amusement and they began talking, inevitably, about the year ahead. Jackie said her New Year’s resolution was to stop wasting her time with relationships that weren’t going anywhere, Mickey thought he might try a bit of travelling, Rose surprised everyone by suggesting she might try to get her A-levels through a distance learning course. The Doctor thought hard for a moment. What did he really want out of the New Year, he already had Rose and his TARDIS? 

“My New Year’s Resolution is to stop hitting the TARDIS with a mallet… and to bring Rose home more often,” 

Jackie squealed and threw her arms around him, a rather uncomfortable situation for both of them, or rather it would have been had she been sober. Mickey was the one who came to his rescue, Rose was too busy laughing at the predicament he found himself in. 

Jackie turned the TV as though nothing had happened, reminding them that it was half 11 and they didn’t want to miss the fireworks. The coverage was of some concert in London, but the music wasn’t bad and the Doctor and Rose found themselves dancing with Jackie in her lounge, which Mickey smirked at them. More than once the Doctor bumped into Rose, but she didn’t seem to care anymore than he did, laughing it off. Even after the coverage changed to a reporter interviewing people on the embankment they continued dancing clumsily, neither of them appeared to have noticed until Jackie and Mickey pulled them apart to point out the countdown. 

Together they yelled out the numbers projected onto the London Eye, counting down the end of a remarkable year for all of them. As they got to zero Jackie and Mickey yelled ‘Happy New Year’, clinking their glasses and embracing each other. The Doctor just smiled at Rose, whispering ‘Happy New Year’ before kissing her. They didn’t have long before Jackie pulled them apart, hugging them both tightly, excitedly yelling. The four of them ended up in a group hug that should have been awkward, but somehow, filled with the euphoria of the moment it felt right. Before he knew it they were stood in a circle singing Auld Lang Syne. The New Year was here.


	27. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the final chapter. Thank you to everyone who has followed this silly series of ficlets, roughly bound together to make a story. I really hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Somehow doing this has made me feel excited and ready to dive back into my WIP in January. 
> 
> For reference I pictured a mixture between the cricket competition in Downton Abbey and the fair in Sarah Jane Adventures. For reference the planet is the one Thirteen mentions in Resolution. I liked the idea that she had been before, with Rose. 
> 
> When I started writing this chapter it just didn't want to be written, by the end it did not want me to stop. As with the North Pole I may yet write an extended version of this chapter at a later date and link it as a series. For now, enjoy!

The day was here. The Doctor had long since packed his many packages and few belongings into the TARDIS. He had reluctantly moved it back out of the flat for New Year’s Eve to give them all more space. One final meal with Mickey and her Mum and they would be leaving. Jackie was emotional, although that might have been the alcohol left in her system. 

Fortunately the roast dinner was with beef and not turkey so the Doctor didn’t have to feign interest in another turkey based meal. The beef was actually surprisingly tender, Jackie had made a real effort for this meal. Rose looked around at the unlikely bunch feeling the familiar excitement build within her. This time had been good for them though, all of them. They had grown together as a family and Rose felt far more ready to set off with this Doctor than she had done a week ago. 

Mickey was quiet throughout the dinner, almost thoughtful. Rose tried to engage him in conversation, but whilst he replied, he didn’t make an effort to continue talking. She didn’t push him, Mickey would talk to her when he was ready. 

Jackie was talking at great lengths about the plans she had for this year and Rose couldn’t help but smile. Every year Jackie intended to make great changes and every year was exactly the same. As Rose helped her Mum to clear up she took the opportunity for a quiet word in the kitchen. 

Jackie pulled her in for a hug before she could start. “I’m going to miss you Rose.”

“I have to go Mum, I can't explain it, I just have to go.”

Jackie smiled half heartedly, “I won’t be the one to stop you. This Doctor might even bring you home more often, just promise me you’ll be safe, that you won’t take daft risks. If something happened to you on some distant world I’d never even know.”

“I promise I’ll do my best. I have the Doctor, he looks out for me.” 

Jackie scoffed, but let the matter drop. 

A short while later the four of them headed to the TARDIS. The snow was gone now, the sun was even shining again, but Rose wore her new burgundy hat regardless. Her red backpack carried belongings and essentials. 

Rose hugged them all in turn. As Mickey pulled her close, he said “I’ll make you proud of me, I promise.” She pulled away sharply and looked at his face, but saw only sincerity there. For a moment she debated questioning him further, but decided that he would have told her earlier if he had wanted her to know. 

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the Doctor saying an awkward goodbye to Mickey while she hugged her Mum. Things were different, relationships had changed and boundaries had moved. In many ways they all had their fresh start, they were more a family than ever. 

As the TARDIS doors closed behind her, Rose let her bag slip off her shoulders and the Doctor enveloped her in a hug. They stood like that for a moment, the gentle hum of the TARDIS filling the comfortable silence. Neither of them needed words, they both knew where they stood and how the other was feeling. It was enough for them. The Doctor separated long enough to put them into the Vortex and they settled on the Captain’s chair. 

“So, any requests?” he asked softly. “We could go with the New Year theme or we could go somewhere different altogether?”

Rose thought for a moment. This was their first proper trip together,it had to be somewhere that felt fitting. They had done so much in the last week, yet apart from a trip to the North Pole, they hadn’t even left London. 

“Somewhere new,” she finally settled on. “It’s a new start for both of us, so somewhere neither of us have been before.”

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. He appeared to think of and discard several ideas almost simultaneously, finally darting round the console, obviously having settled on one. 

“Somewhere new, I can work with that,” he muttered as he pressed buttons, flicked switches and threw levers. The familiar wheezing sound filled the room, filling Rose with a half forgotten thrill of excitement. 

Then it stopped with a small shudder. They were here, wherever here was. 

Rose stepped forwards to the Doctor, grasping his hand. 

“Quantifer, Rose. A little known settlement at the edge of the known universe. It’s a permanent New Year celebration. I’ve been meaning to come here for years, but never found the time.” He looked down at their clasped hands. “Are you ready?”

Rose nodded, seeing the now familiar gleam in his eyes that she was sure was reflected in hers. Together they flung the doors open and stepped out. 

Whatever she had expected, it wasn’t this. It resembled a traditional village, complete with duck pond, village green and maypole. For a moment she thought they had been transported to the early 1900s. That was before she noticed the people had tails. The balloons hovered and the ducks whispered. Subtle differences. 

There was a huge marquee with tables laden with food, banners that fluttered in the breeze and the distant sound of music. Children darted in and out of the adults, who discussed events in the village and what the New Year would bring. 

Rose turned to the Doctor, “if this is a New Year celebration, how can they do it every day? Don’t they have lives to live.”

The Doctor smiled at Rose as though she had said something clever. “Time is relative, remember? A day here is roughly equivalent to three of your human months. They don’t have time to lose the joy of the new year before they’re preparing for the next one. We’ve arrived at the end of their third month.”

“How do you know so much if you’ve never been here before?” Rose narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

The Doctor just laughed and held his hands up. “Time Lord remember. Come on, this is our new beginning.”

With that, he took her hand and led them both into the crowd. 


End file.
